Dewars Double Double Scotch Whisky 32 Year 92 Proof Review

"Dewar's never varies."

Due southo went the tag line of the old impress adverts for Dewar's "White Characterization" blended Scotch whisky. Responses to this statement might serve as an interesting Rorschach examination of whisky drinkers. Does that condolement you or bore you?

As an audacious drinker, I often discover myself passing over the big brand names – peculiarly in blended whisky – in favor of independently-bottled curiosities or the new expressions that emerge periodically from the single malt distilleries. This is exacerbated by the emphasis on consistency. If nothing e'er varies, as promised, then why bother going back again?

I, therefore, constitute my curiosity piqued when I noticed a trio of new Dewar's expressions striking the shelves of my local canteen store.

There's not much of a history with Dewar's on MALT. Jason did his duty by reviewing the ubiquitous White Label in 2016, which was served in a miniature bottle on an plane. I wonder what percentage of Dewar's sales come up from this format? It's certainly the only way I e'er consume it – or did until United started offering Glenfarclas 12 Years Onetime for $1 more. Otherwise, coverage has been limited to the 18 twelvemonth quondam, besides reviewed by Jason. Like all the legacy pieces on the site, they're full of insight and deserve occasional re-reading.

Thus, this novel trio seemed to offering an opportunity to revisit Dewar'south in a way that might exist of interest to the MALT readership. In the spirit of trying something familiar yet new, I sprung for the everyman entrant in this fancy new range.

The commencement impression, earlier the canteen is even open, is that these look very different from the normal Dewar's offering, ornamented equally it is with Celtic knots and the gold foil crest of imperial date. In stark dissimilarity, these are presented with an aesthetic similar to Apple products; the packaging is modernistic, white, and comparatively clean.

Angular 375 ml bottles are ensconced in a heavy box that seems designed to mask the lesser quantity of actual whisky. The smaller format is reminiscent of the downsizing that occurred with the ill-blighted "premiumisation" drive at Mortlach, and nosotros all know how that turned out. Even before I opened the bottle, I was on guard, especially given the higher cost betoken.

Every bit Jason noted, the author of Dewar's labels seems to suffer from loghorrea. The quantity of words in whisky is frequently in inverse proportions to the amount of information provided. These new expressions are dubbed "Double Double Aged for Ultimate Smoothness." Boosted verbiage specifies "4-stage ageing, finished in Oloroso sherry casks."

A diagram on the dorsum of the box, reproduced below, gets into specifics. Stage 1 is single grain and single malt whiskies anile in oak casks. The second stage is blended grain and blended malt whiskies, also aged in oak casks. Step 3 entails blending the blended grain and blended malt whiskies, with additional crumbling in oak casks. Step 4, verbatim: "This meticulously blended whisky is finally aged in sherry casks."

As a primer on the blending process: it's non a bad one, if over-simplified ("Blending for Dummies"). I don't know if the invented "Double Double Aged" designation volition stick, or rather I promise information technology won't. "Ultimate Smoothness" is not the type of selling point that typically resounds here at MALT. Information technology suggests a lapidary approach to whisky making, with all the rough edges, sanded off to create something innocuous, banal, and featureless.

For a point of intrigue: these do acquit higher age statements. I accept often constitute that blends stand up to extended aging better than single malts. Perhaps this is due to the aforementioned re-vatting, in which fresher casks supercede their tired counterparts? Or perhaps the complexity imparted by the multiple components requires longer to knit together into a cohesive whole? Either way, you've got this 21 year old (Oloroso sherry cask finish), as well as a 27 year sometime (Palo Cortado sherry cask terminate) and a 32 year old (PX cask finish).

And then let'south meet hither. This is a composite Scotch whisky, aged 21 years and bottled at 46%. I paid $50 for 375 ml.

Dewar'southward Double Double Aged 21 Yr One-time Whisky – Review

Color: Medium-light golden brown with smashing glints

On the nose: Highly pleasant and appealing nose. Malt and grain are intertwined. Honey, peach cobbler, grilled pineapple, some meatier scents of roasted pork, and the faintly rich citric note of Meyer lemon. Some tannic wood hovers effectually the periphery, but never overwhelms the layers of aromas.

In the rima oris: An initial taut, fruity intensity gives way to nutty cashew notes on the midpalate. In that location's once over again a lemony fruitiness that transitions into a lingering, slightly soapy stop. This has a scrap of edge throughout the rima oris as a event of the reasonably loftier bottling force, in a way that makes up in places for the relative lack of depth. Again, in that location are woody notes around, merely they don't step to the fore in a way that distracts from the overall presentation.

Conclusions

There are some mannerly aspects of this, particularly on the olfactory organ. The palate is non as dense and flavorful but has enough substance to preclude this from turning watery or dilute. I wouldn't be able to pick this out as being sherry cask finished, much less to place the particular type of sherry cask used. It's only as well, well… smooth. Mission accomplished, perchance from Dewar's perspective, just I'm left wanting more than.

As Dewar's is endemic past Bacardi, I wonder if this wasn't a case of the corporate parent's sales and marketing folks sensing a market opportunity at college price points, with the blenders reverse-technology a product to fit the brief? At the equivalent of $100 for a 750 ml, this competes with Chivas Royal 18 year one-time, which I have non tried but which Jason indicates is comparably unassuming. It'southward a great deal cheaper than Johnnie Walker Blue Label, which is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the globe in terms of brand positioning at the luxury terminate of blended whisky.

Speaking of Johnnie Walker: while tasting this I kept having memories of the eternal Black Characterization, which Jason praised in this review. It'due south my go-to blend; it's on every bar shelf and is delightfully quaffable over ice, which is how I take it. It'southward besides lxx% less expensive and does essentially the same job.

All in all: I'one thousand not a Dewar'due south convert, particularly at the price. If Bacardi is going to hogtie united states to part with more money in exchange for a premium offering, they're going to need to effigy out how to do so in a manner where the whisky in the canteen deserves more attention than the glass and paper-thin surrounding information technology.

Score: 5/10

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Source: https://malt-review.com/2019/05/22/dewars-double-double-aged-21-year-old/

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