Side by side: Four Distell Finishes

Distell own three distilleries in Scotland and four in South Africa producing whisky and brandy.

A recent sample swap delivered four cask strength drams from three of these distilleries.

First let's find out a little more:

Distell Group Limited is a producer and marketer of spirits, fine wines, ciders and ready-to-drinks headquartered in Stellenbosch, South Africa. They were formed in 2000 through the merger of Distillers Corporation (founded 1945) and Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery (founded 1925). In 2013 they acquired Burn Stewart Distillers (founded 1948) and it's three Scottish distilleries.

Distell's South African distilleries include Goudini, Van Ryn’s and Worcester for brandy...

Goudini Brandy Distillery

Van Ryn's Brandy Distillery

Worchester Brandy Distillery

...and of course the James Sedgwick in Wellington where Three Ships & Bain's whiskies are distilled.

James Sedgwick

In Scotland they own Bunnahabhain on Islay,  Deanston near Stirling and Tobermory on the Isle of Mull.

Bunnahabhain

Deanston

Tobermory

So what are we trying:

Dram	Deanston 15yo Sauternes	Bains 10yo Shiraz	Tobermory 2004 17yo Oloroso	Ledaig 1998 21yo Marsala
Characteristics	57.3% ABV	63.5% ABV	55.9% ABV	55.8% ABV
Distillery notes	Open Deanston Sauternes Single Malt Whisky and be absorbed in the warm aromas of honey, fruit and mellow grape with delicate hints of vanilla and spice. Pour, sip and savour the rich sweetness of candied fruit, grape and honey, balanced with creamy toffee and spices, pause briefly. Then indulge in a long flavoursome finish full of sweet grape	After Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky initial double maturation, Andy finished the whisky for a further five years in ex-shiraz American Oak casks. Shiraz Casks are rarely selected as a whisky finish, yet the complexity of the seasoned Shiraz casks selected enrich Bains’s Cape Mountain Whisky with layers of earthy red fruit and pepper, enlivening the whisky’s signature aromas of vanilla, toffee and spice.	Aged for 17 years, the full maturation in Oloroso sherry casks has packed this special Tobermory release full of flavour. Expect notes of caramel, fruit and rose petal, balanced with hints of oak, leather and an unusually dry and nutty finish. Nose: Packed full of toffee and caramel, followed by almonds, blackcurrant and a hint of spice. Palate: Rose petals, tropical fruit, walnuts, cherry and creamy toffee balanced with oak, tannins and hints of leather. Finish: Unusually dry and nutty finish with a ginger spice.	This peated Ledaig Limited Edition expression has been finished in Marsala wine casks creating a beautifully sweet dram, with a creamy mouthfeel, a hint of dried fruit, sweet grape and a lingering toffee and smoke finish. Nose: Sweet peat, vanilla and citrus with hints of sweet grape and dried fruit. Palate: Sweet creamy mouthfeel, with a hint of toffee and dried fruit, developing into a smoky almost medicinal character – unusual for peppery Ledaig. Finish: Toffee and smoke.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold, almost bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, slowly bead up and fall as slow thin oily legs.	Dark gold, almost bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack take an age to form tiny beads and fall as slow thin legs.	Mid gold, almost bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack take an age to form tiny beads and fall as slow thin legs.	Dark gold, almost bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack take an age to form tiny beads and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Oak to start, the ABV very noticeable, then comes tropical fruit: pineapple, mango, kiwi; a little dark chocolate and dried fruit - seems more sherry than sauternes?  A little time and air offers dry grass, pine needles, toffee, honey and a little spice.	Unmistakable Bain's grain notes shine through: vanilla, buttered popcorn, toffee and almonds. Then there's little hints of smoked bacon, berries and pepper spice.	Christmas Cake in a glass... All the typical sherry bomb notes (except the colour!) are here - dried fruit: dates, raisins, figs, prunes; black cherries, blueberry jam, toffee, molasses, marzipan, cinnamon, nutmeg. Maybe a little hint of sulphur?	Dirty Ledaig! Thick bonfire smoke, rubber tyres, fresh tarmac, old leather jackets, BBQ meats, liquorice. A little time and air offers citrus notes and a maritime salinity.
Palate	Thick treacly arrival, toffee, honey and dried fruits to the fore. There's a dark chocolate and liquorice note with more dried fruit pointing again to a sherry cask. Dry and nutty with some dark berry notes. Peppery spice makes itself known as the liquid disappears. With water the tropical fruit notes from the nose come through, the spice increases a little and the sherry influence is dulled.	Again a thick treacly arrival, immediately spicy but full of red berries. Is peppered red berries a thing? There's a strong coffee note with maybe a hint of liquorice. The ABV is noticeable but not overpowering. With water the sweetness in enhanced, brown sugar and cinnamon spice coming out. The red berry notes are also more prominent - yummy!	Not as thick as the previous two but very warming as it arrives. It's not really what you're expecting after the nose - more tropical fruit than dried, a few berries but not jammy. It's very dry and spicy, the ABV making itself felt. Walnuts and nutmeg give a hint of the Christmas Cake from the nose. With water the tropical notes do turn a little more dried, the sulphur note from the nose is here and the dry nuttiness is enhanced.	Thick dry smoky arrival, a little sweetness and a little salinity before the mouth is stripped of all moisture! Black cherries, engine oil, sun dried seaweed and a plateful of BBQ burnt ends - typical Ledaig fare but this has a little twist - there's red berries, toffee, dark chocolate, peppery spice and a little citrus - YUMMY! I just don't want to put any water in this but for the sake of science...  With water it turns drier and smokier but looses some of the berry notes.
Finish	Short and spicy with a little dried fruit.	Lingering berries, buttered popcorn and peppery spice.	Short dry and spicy with almonds and walnuts.	Lingering peppery spice, dry oak and a little hint of blueberry jam.
Overall	Four very different and interesting drams. I can't believe the Sauternes label on the Deanston bottle it had to be sherry - probably PX. The nose was lovey but the palate let it down a bit, a little water helps but makes the whisky very dry. The Bain's reminded me so much of the standard bottling but with the ABV turned up to 11. The Shiraz finish had added a peppery spice and loads of red berry notes, yummy! The nose on the Tobermory just says Christmas Cake, it's a sherry bomb in all but colour. But once you start drinking it's a different picture - more tropical fruit - it's very nice but I'm a little disappointed that the palate didn't follow the nose. The Ledaig was wonderful, a typical dirty Ledaig but with a little berry influence - blueberry jam. For me it would be Ledaig, Bain's Tobermory and then the Deanston.

Huge thanks to @whiskytoon1 for the sample swap!

In November 2021 Distell Group Holdings announced that they were selling their wine, cider, brandy and South African based whisky business to Heineken the Dutch brewer. The three Scottish distilleries are not included, they'll still be majority owned by Remgro, the largest shareholder of Distell.