Dewar’s scotch is a brand of blended scotch with a history as storied as many single distilleries. Created in 1846 by John Dewar and expanded by his sons so that by the turn of the century, their scotches were winning awards and being gifted to multiple US presidents by Andrew Carnegie. The Dewar’s brand have constructed or bought distilleries to add to production and they currently own Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie, Macduff and Royal Brackla. While each of these produce single malt offerings, part of their output is allocated to the Dewar’s blended mix. The Dewar’s 21 Year Double Double is thus named for the four-stage process where two parallel batches of single malt and single grain whiskies are aged and blended on their own before finally being married together in ex-sherry casks. Curiously only a 375ml bottle, though the box offers a nice presentation. Heavy marketing around sensation – “Ultimate Smoothness” and “silky smooth finish” versus taste or smell.
Brand: Dewars
Region: Blends
Age: 21 years
Strength: 46%
Price: $49.99
Maturation: Double double aging, finished in ex-sherry casks
Location: Perth
Nose: Apricot, apple, honey, vanilla, sherry, smoke
Palate: Honey, wood, pepper
Finish: Wood, vanilla, peat, smoke
Comments: Water does not erase the peppery heat, surprisingly.
Adam – I so rarely approach blended scotch that I have to do a lot of recalibration in my mind to appreciate it as I should. I’ll admit I am intrigued by the mix of age statement and price, a combination certainly not seen in single malts. The nose is unfortunately hot but if you can get past that, there is some light honey and fruit, with the nearest touch of smoke. The palate is narrower than the nose, alas, but there is still some nice honey and oak before unfurling into a soft vanilla ending and that same touch of smoke again. An aura of sherry hangs around the periphery of the experience, though only if you’re looking for it. Spend some time coming back to this one, despite the surprising pepper on the palate, because it does actually grow on you with a little patience. Different aspects grow and retreat as you drink your way through the glass, such as the smoke becoming more present the further near the end you get. The Dewar’s 21 is not a single malt and it shouldn’t be measured like one, yet this blended scotch – so often consigned to the bottom shelf of liquor stores – does present legitimate rewards for the patient and adventurous. You just have to be willing to work at it a bit.
Meghan – The first time I had Dewar’s, I swigged some 12 year from a plastic airline bottle that had been sitting around in a bathroom for who knows how many years. It tasted like soap. I assumed that perhaps the years of shower steam had permeated through the cheap plastic. Now, this may have been the case with that particular little bottle. However, the 21 tasted like Pert’s Plus shampoo, so I may not have been too far off initially. I’d like to try to find something positive to the taste but the shampoo aspect is just too strong for me. The Dewar’s 21 has a heady nose, like spoiled fruit and sherry. It will knock you back a couple feet. However, what saves this whisky is the finish. Amazingly smoky and peaty. If I had this only by the finish, I’d almost call it a Laphroaig. It isn’t quite that big but the aspects are there. Although I probably would never pick up a bottle of this for myself, if I did, it would be a shooter whisky. Just get past the nose and palate and then savor the finish.
Different aspects grow and retreat as you drink your way through the glass.
Ben – It’s much better when it spreads out over your tongue. Then I feel the heat a little more, physically on the tongue. It experiences to me like BBQ, where you don’t put sauce, you put on a rub and the flavor comes from what you’re smoking. If you go to a place that’s using scrub oak versus mesquite, you’re going to get different flavors.
Kate – Milk chocolate and fruity on the nose, initially. Like how the lemon juice and sugars have just started blending at the beginning of toffee, with a bit of the citrus and a little sugar. Some floral, cherry blossoms. The plate is smoke and oak. Brine on the finish, which is very strange. And the Dewar’s 21 is a warm one. It makes me salivate. If it hits the tip of my tongue, I get maple syrup. It feels like depending on how you drink it, it has flavors for what you’re feeling.
Henry – Cherry smoke, overripe fruit and spoiled apples on the nose with a pocket of wet laundry on the mid-palate. Vanilla and toast on the finish. Heat in the nose and palate is not “ultimate smoothness.” An unexpected hint of peat on the end of the finish is the most exciting part of this experience.
Kristin – I can taste the smokiness.
