Whisky of the Week: Deanston 17 year old Orange Wine Cask
This spent a few years in vino de naranja casks—a finish that’s rarely seen in scotch
September 2, 2026 –––––– Danny Brandon
Set on the banks of River Teith around an hour’s drive northwest of Edinburgh, Deanston Distillery is an often-overlooked whisky maker—partly because it hasn’t been producing for very long. The distillery was once home to a cotton mill built in 1785 that operated for 180 years before it was converted into a distillery in 1965. Production began the following year, but was relatively short-lived, as an industry-wide downturn forced its closure in 1982.
Deanston reawakened in 1991 under new ownership, and since then it has been making some very impressive whiskies. Its core range includes a 12 year old and an 18 year old (both aged in bourbon barrels) alongside Virgin Oak, a non-age-stated expression finished in new American oak. Its limited releases feature interesting casks, including a 2002 vintage 20 year old aged in re-charred American oak and a 15 year old finished in tequila barrels. Its latest goes in a similar direction, finished in rare orange wine casks.
Waves of Citrus
The newcomer is a 17 year old that matured 15 years in bourbon barrels before being transferred into vino de naranja casks for 2 years. It was bottled at 53.6% ABV, which is a slight uptick from its tequila barrel-finished counterpart.
Unlike orange wines, which get their name from their amber color that results from fermenting white grapes with their skins, vino de naranja is a flavored wine. In fact, it’s the only aromatized wine protected by a Denominación de Origen (DO) in Spain, coming from Huelva and Málaga, two areas in the Andalucía region in the southern part of the country. It starts with a base of fortified white wine, infused with macerated peels of local Seville oranges (a bitter variety widely used to make British-style marmalade) for at least 6 months, and aged in a solera system for a minimum of 2 years.
Vino de naranja often has a complex profile that melds the sweetness from the fortification process with bitter notes from the oranges. Those flavors sound like a natural fit for finishing whisky, but vino de naranja casks are fairly uncommon. That’s likely because the wine is a relatively niche offering and represents a very small fraction of the region’s overall wine production, which also includes sherry, moscatel, and other fortified wines. Plus, as is the case with many of those other fortified wines, producers are reluctant to part with casks that are vital to maintaining their solera systems.
But some whisky makers have used vino de naranja casks to great effect. They’re most often seen among American distillers, with examples including Blue Note Special Reserve, TX Whiskey Experimental Series, Penelope Valencia, Middle West Double Cask Collection, 15 Stars 8 year old Vino De Naranja Cask, and others from Sagamore, Castle & Key, Lasso Motel, Smooth Ambler, and more. They’re far rarer in scotch, with only a handful of expressions like Compass Box Canvas, a previous Scallywag Winter Edition from independent bottler Douglas Laing, and a very limited Kilchoman 100% Islay that was released exclusively for the German market. Some world whisky producers have also dabbled with these casks, including New Zealand’s Pōkeno, The Lakes Distillery in England, and Milk & Honey Distillery in Israel.
While vino de naranja casks are certainly interesting from a flavor perspective, Deanston master blender Julieann Fernandez also chose them for a sentimental reason. She has family ties to southern Spain, with both of her parents having originally met in Andalucía and some family members still living in the area. " I spent part of my childhood surrounded by the sights, smells, and flavors of Andalucía, and those memories have always stayed with me,” she says. “Working with vino de naranja casks allowed us to bring that influence into Deanston’s spirit in a very natural way.”
How Does Deanston 17 year old Orange Wine Cask Taste?
92 points—Deanston 17 year old Orange Wine Cask Finished Highland Single Malt
ABV: 53.6%
SRP: $132
Availability: 7,000 bottles globally, available nationwide
Honeydew and apricot tango with lemon sorbet, candle wax, grape jam, and a bit of marmalade on the nose. The citrus influence from the casks truly comes through on the palate, which combines burnt oranges, candied orange peel, and Jaffa cakes with plum, more apricot, honey, and snickerdoodles. These flavors linger for a medium-to-long finish that also adds orange spice tea. The vino casks seem to be a great match for the distillery's sweet and fruity spirit.
