The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Kurt Maitland
Rating: B
The Deveron 12 Year Old
(Credit: Kurt Maitland)
The Deveron is a single malt distilled at the Macduff Distillery, founded in 1962. Throughout its history, the distillery’s official name has alternated between Glen Deveron and MacDuff, but the official releases having been released as Glen Deveron. Releases titled Macduff have come from independent bottlers.
At present Macduff Distillery is owned by Bacardi, who has put it under the umbrella of subsidiary John Dewar & Sons, along with Royal Brackla, Aberfeldy, Aultmore, and Craigellachie. As a Macduff-made malt, The Deveron has thus been included in Dewar’s The Last Great Malts collection.
The Scotch
Color: Yellow gold
Nose: Fruity, with hints of citrus, apple and raisin
Taste: Like many of the more basic single malts, The Deveron is bottled at 40% ABV. It is a light, sweet, fruity scotch, dominated by apples, raisins, and spice. The liquid is silky smooth at first, turning to a spicy fruitiness.
Water peels back the slickness and places the spiciness of this release to the fore. Some chocolate also makes an appearance. Personally, I prefer it without water, but one should always test it out and make an informed decision for one’s self.
Finish: Cane sugar mixed with clove and cinnamon. Slightly waxy with hints of melon and sweet and sour hard candy at the end and a lot of white pepper spiciness.
The Deveron 12 is not as sherried as its stablemate, Craigellachie, but it has its own charms. It is a great starter malt for a novice scotch drinker, but it has enough presence to make it a fine after work sipper for more seasoned whisky fans.
The Price
The price of this whisky is another feature makes it an excellent starter scotch. The Deveron can be found for between $40 – $50 US. Not bad at all for a 12 year old release that isn’t named Glenfiddich or Glenlivet.
