Teith Mill
This 1970s blended Scotch featured some of the first whisky to be distilled at Deanston.
Deanston
Distillery & brand
Even though it was built in the late 1960s, Deanston has retained some old-style features in kit and distilling regime.
Deanston distillery
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Its mash tun is open-topped for example, while the way it is run – low gravity worts, long fermentation, slow distillation – helps to produce a new make style which is in the waxy quadrant. This represents a switch back to the original style. In the Invergordon era, Deanston had conformed to a modern style of production, making a light dry ‘nutty-spicy’ make.
Today organic barley is also run through the stills and, in common with all of Burn Stewart’s single malts, it is bottled without chill-filtering or caramel tinting.
Deanston History
There are many distilleries in Scotland which started life as mills, but none of them had quite the scale of Deanston. This huge plant was constructed on the banks of the fast-flowing River Teith in 1785 by Richard Arkwright who used it as one of the sites for the development of the Spinning Jenny. It also had what was claimed to be the largest water wheel in Europe.
Weaving continued here until 1964 when the buildings were bought by Brodie Hepburn [see Tullibardine, Macduff]. Production started in 1969, but its original owners only had it for three years before the company was bought by private label specialist Invergordon. It ran for a decade before the ‘80s whisky slump forced its owner to shut it down. Eight years later, it was bought for £2.1m by Burn Stewart.
It can claim to be one of the greenest distilleries in Scotland. All of its power is generated by a turbine house which processes 20 million litres of water an hour. The excess electricity is then sold to the National Grid.
Although single malt bottlings started relatively early – in 1974 – it is only recently that Deanston has been elevated to a front-line single malt brand.
Timeline
- 1785 Deanston Mill is constructed near the River Teith by Richard Arkwright
- 1964 The site is bought by Brodie Hepburn and transformed into a distillery
- 1969 Production begins at Deanston
- 1971 The distillery's first single malt is named Bannockburn
- 1972 Invergordon buys the distillery
- 1974 The first Deanston single malt is released
- 1982 Poor trade forces Deanston to close
- 1990 Burn Stewart buys the distillery for £2.1m, and Deanston reopens a year later
- 1999 CL Financial acquires an 18% stake in Burn Stewart, but buys the company outright three years later
- 2009 Deanston 12 Year Old is given a revamp
- 2010 Deanston Virgin Oak is released
- 2012 The distillery's visitors' centre opens its doors
Deanston Facts
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- Capacity (mlpa) i
- 3
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- Condenser Type i
- Shell and tube
-
- Fermentation Time i
- 50-100hrs
-
- Filling Strength i
- 63.5%
-
- Grist Weight (t) i
- 10.52
-
- Heat Source i
- Wash stills - steam heaters, spirit stills - steel coils
-
- Malt Specification i
- Maximum 2ppm
-
- Malt Supplier i
- Various (specified Scottish grown barley only)
-
- Mash Tun Material i
- Cast Iron, open top
-
- Mash Tun Type i
- Traditional
-
- New-make Strength i
- 69%
-
- Single Malt Percentage i
- 15%
-
- Spirit Still Charge (l) i
- 13,500
-
- Spirit Still Shape i
- Medium bulbous
-
- Spirit Still Size (l) i
- 15,500
-
- Stills i
- 4
-
- Warehousing i
- 35,000 casks on site on dunnage and racking
-
- Wash Still Charge (l) i
- 15,000
-
- Wash Still Shape i
- Medium bulbous
-
- Wash Still Size (l) i
- 17,500
-
- Washback Charge (l) i
- 58,000
-
- Washback Size (l) i
- 60,000
-
- Washback Type i
- Steel
-
- Washbacks i
- 8
-
- Water Source i
- River Teith
-
- Yeast Type i
- Liquid 'M' type strain
Owners
Parent company
- Distell Group 2013 - present
Current owner
Previous owners
- Invergordon Distillers 1972 - 1990
- Brodie Hepburn Ltd 1964 - 1972
Contact
- Address
-
Deanston Distillery
Doune
Perthshire
FK16 6AG
United Kingdom - Phone
- +44 1786 843010
- Visitor Opening Hours
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- Monday
- 10am to 5pm
- Tuesday
- 10am to 5pm
- Wednesday
- 10am to 5pm
- Thursday
- 10am to 5pm
- Friday
- 10am to 5pm
- Saturday
- 10am to 5pm
- Sunday
- 10am to 5pm
Map
See also
-
Brand