Dewars 18 Year Old

By Barry Bradford on May 9, 2017 • ( Leave a comment )

Dewars 18 Year Old (40%, OB, Travel Retail, 2017)

Category: Blended Scotch Whisky
Origin: Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie, Macduff, Royal Brackla amongst others
Bottling: Dewars, Travel Retail Exclusive
ABV: 40%
Cost: $99 per Litre

What they say:

Dewar’s has been making whiskies of great age since our founder John Dewar first realised leaving his Scotch in wooden casks for longer made a real difference to the taste. And our 18 year old Scotch continues to follow in the footsteps of his legacy. A precious dram, putting the whisky back into the cask to mature a second time after blending (double-aging), allows all of the older and characterful whiskies to get to know each other before they go into the bottle. With flavours that go hand in hand with an older whisky (nuttiness and marzipan to name just two), age doesn’t come without sacrifice – over half of the cask will evaporate during the aging process. But whilst the Angel’s enjoy their Share, what’s left behind is all you need concern yourself with – an amazing Scotch.

What I say:

This 18 year old blended scotch whisky from Dewars is produced exclusively for the travel retail market. Likely to be constructed from a good portion of single malts from their own distilleries – many of which have recently been winning awards, this has some great heritage and stock behind it.

Colour:

Dark copper gold (11/20) medium legs and loos, large tears

Nose:

Heather honey, nutty, cereal barley. oak wood, polished walnut, dry and dusty, hints of tannic leather, hazelnut

Taste:

Smooth (very smooth!), creamy highland toffee & butterscotch, gristy malted barley, nutty; walnut, hazelnut, tobacco leaf, milk chocolate, Werthers original caramel candies, drying leather

Finish:

Medium long, drying, chocolate, nuts and toffee

Overall:

What a lovely well-rounded blend, definitely focussed on mouthfeel this was the epitomy of smooth and from there the luxuriousness of this blend won me over. It is creamy with toffee and nuts to the fore with gentler hints of sherry maturation appearing later. The whole experience spoke of refined luxury and a very relaxed drinking experience.