Dewar's Signature: One Blend That Truly Stacks Up

By Patrick Gary

With rare exceptions, blended Scotch doesn't tend to be considered anything worthy of the connoisseur's palate. The single malts are often more distinctive from label to label; even worse many of the cheaper blends are cut with grain spirits and aged in poor-quality barrels. There are several where the whisky is essentially being blended because distillers otherwise would never be able to get their money back out of the stock. However there are a few blended whiskeys that are every bit as distinctive and high-quality as their single-malt competitors, and due to the nature of the product a bit more consistent from year to year.

Dewar's Signature certainly falls into that category. From the very beginning the experience sells itself. Even the wooden box and distinctive bottle advertise that this is a hyper-premium blend. As it is poured you can't help noticing the honey-like color and rich scent with overtones of maple, honeysuckle, and smoke. Sipped neat, there is a pleasant burn and a slightly smoky front. While many blended Scotches are dominated by a single flavor, this is very complex. There is never a flavor dip, but holding it on your tongue is quite an experience with a touch of peat and smoke, a surprising vanilla sweetness, and even some floral and fruity flavors ending with a very clean and smooth aftertaste. Adding a bit of water and chilling the whisky opens it even more, displaying hints of butter, vanilla, and oak and adding to the floral nature of the scent. The taste reminds you of what it smells like when it's just about to rain on a summer day.

The secret, according to Dewar's, master blender Thomas Aitken, is the 27-year-old malt made at the company's distillery, Aberfeldy. By law the youngest Scotch in the blend is the one that must be displayed on the bottle if any age is shown, and so Dewar's has decided to leave the age off. In this case, stating the age would improperly distract from older whiskies that make up a blend.

At $200 a bottle, Dewar's would be staking a lot of their reputation were this not truly a premium bottle capable of holding its own against many fine single-malts. As this is a truly outstanding blend, easily standing strong among the best in its class, the price is definitely justified. This blend is a masterwork of what can be achieved through mixing flavors and tastes to improve upon a base. It can certainly hold its own among any single-malt that you could care to name, which is not something you could say about very many blends.

Patrick Gary is a Dallas based technical consultant, multifaceted musician, and jack of all trades who refuses to let any single realm of life or group of interests completely define or encapsulate him.

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