Lifestyle -- 19 hours ago
Everything you need to know about Deanston, Leonardo DiCaprio’s new favourite whisky
The actor recently bought £1,000 worth of the whisky
Words: Jonathan Wells
Earlier this month, Leonardo DiCaprio visited Scotland for the first time in his life. Predictably, it was raining, but the actor – who was in Edinburgh to speak at the Scottish Business Awards – braced the brisk weather and later rewarded himself with a secret trip to a nearby distillery.
DiCaprio was treated to a dram or two after hours in Stirlingshire’s Deanston distillery, and went on to spend over £1,000 on the Highland Single Malt Scotch.
But what do you need to know about Deanston – and should you be be taking DiCaprio’s lead and investing in a bottle of your own?
Said to be created from the purest water source in Scotland, Deanston’s Scotch is matured for 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels to infuse it with the taste of sweet, honeyed fruit and a gentle warmth. With not a hint of smoke, this is a whisky as smooth and easy as they come.
Deanston’s 12-year old un-chill filtered Scotch whisky has a nose of malty cereal and rich creamy toffee. You can also expect aromas of fresh summer hay, sweet oak and – fittingly for Scotland – fragrant honeyed heather. Deanston also encourage you to look out for the milder scent of barley sugar.
DiCaprio’s favoured Scotch has a smooth, creamy sweetness with sumptuous hints of fruit to temper the richness. Maltiness hits the tongue, but the honeyed spiciness prevails – and an aromatic taste of soft vanilla is revealed in the aftertaste.
Under the vanilla is a crisp finish – accentuated by a gentle tingle of cloves which recalls the earlier spiciness.
With the slogan of ‘Simple. Handcrafted Natural’, Deanston’s whiskies are refreshingly pared back. The bottle is clear, stopped with a simple cork, and labelled with a brown kraft label devoid of any colour but black or white.
This is a smooth, simple whisky – packaged similarly simply – and shows that DiCaprio knows what he’s doing. Flashy in neither image nor name, you can pick up a bottle for a mere £36 – and can channel your inner film star.
