Lately, all I seem to purchase are single malt scotch whiskies. What about a good blended scotch whisky? I like Johnnie Walker Black Label. Green Label is very good. Chivas Regal 12 years works too. What about Dewar's 12 years? Me thinks I need to try it. So, a bottle was procured from my local liquor store by yours truly, and so here we are.
Nose (undiluted)
Muted dandelions and malt notes. No strong aromas here. Very gentle scents.
Palate (undiluted)
Very sweet entry onto the palate followed by some feeble attempt to dry or evaporate, but this is mostly a failed attempt. Instead of drying there is a warm graininess. As for flavors, you will be greeted by sugary, cloyingly so, honey, followed by some malty notes and dark chocolate. There is a slight barnyard funkiness, something spoiled going on here. Not easy to put my finger on it. Think of the taste of rinds of tangerines left in the fruit bowl too long by the kitchen window, as the sun beams down day after day.
Finish (undiluted)
Artificially sweetened cereal. Think Captain Crunch and Lucky Charms in a bowl of chocolate milk with saccharine liberally sprinkled on top. That’s the very brief lingering taste. The saccharine really is a distinct and unfortunate (like a car accident) flavor on the finish. Yuck!
Nose (diluted)
Add a teaspoon of water and the pleasing undiluted nose disappears. In its place is the scent of damp leaves.
Palate (diluted)
The disappointment continues. The addition of water just punches up the NutraSweet levels to near diabetic coma conditions. Flavors? I dunno. I guess you could call it honey, Dollar Store honey, way past expiry date that was safe for human consumption.
Finish (diluted)
Graphite, cheap and short like Madonna's mini skirts from early '80's music videos. This is junk scotch.
General Impressions
Please avoid at all costs. Drinking Dewar’s 12 years evokes childhood memories of bouts of car sickness on the long drive to Grandma’s house.
If I were to sum it up in a few words, I would say: grainy sweet with some malt notes on the finish. The taste is cheap. Reminds me of something rummies would drink. I am surprised it is a 12 year old blend. Also reminds me of J&B, which is not a good thing. I am still emotionally scarred from the last J&B tasting. Both are ridiculously sweet with simple, unadulterated flavors of artificial sweetener, honey and some malty cereal. Probably the best feature of this blended scotch whisky was the undiluted nose. It was subtle and pleasing and consequently provided no warning of the huge pedestrian crosswalk disappointment that awaits the unsuspecting and trusting fool.
Value for Money?
Me thinks not. The price is within $1 of Johnnie Walker Black Label, another 12 yr old blended scotch, and it is the same price as Chivas Regal 12 years. Dewar's tastes more like an economy blended scotch and they (ie. Johnnie Walker Red Label, Ballantines) are better. Dewar's 12 years old is too expensive for what you get. It is similar to J & B Rare, another terribly sweet blended scotch that is better consumed as part of a mixed drink. Dewar's may work as mix, but the trouble is one should not have to spend that much for mix!
I still have about half a bottle. I am not going to finish it. I will give it to someone, but the questions is: Who do I dislike that much?
Jason Debly
Copyright © Jason Debly, 2009-2010. All rights reserved.
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Jason -- Just discovered your blog a few days ago. You deserve an award for public service! And you just saved me a wad of cash.
ReplyDeleteI was standing in front of the Scotch section in a local grocery store earlier today, staring at a bottle of Dewar's 12. Now, this may be heresy, but I have been known to drink regular ole Dewar's on the rocks, thus the fixation on the 12.
Decided to take a pass for whatever reason. Reading your review on the same day was serendipitous. I'll spend those bucks on my first bottle of JW Green.
Dryheat, the JW Green will not disappoint. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI'm relatively new to scotch (and whiskey for that matter) and tonight I stood in the liquor isle of my local grocery store trying to decide between the Chivas Regal 12 year old and the Dewars 12 year. I liked the free glasses that came with the Chivas Regal 12 year old, even thought it was a bit more expensive. I'm enjoying the taste as I type this and based on this review, it appears I made the right decision. Thanks for the reviews. I'll be sure and visit this site regularly! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteYes, you dodged a bullet when you chose Chivas over Dewars. I'm watching "True Grit" so forgive the western gunslinger reference.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your observations on whisky. Welcome to the site.
Cheers!
Jason
Dewars 12 is not that bad. I compare it favorably to JW Black but with sl. less smoke aroma and less sweet on the palette. I've offered it to JWB drinkers and they like it. And, the price where I buy it is 20% less than JWB. I think it's a good Scotch meself.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous! I think we will have to agree to disagree. Dewar's for me, is like Grant's Family Reserve. Sweet, grainy and wholly disappointing. Teacher's Highland Cream is better than both.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, judging by sales, you are not alone in your opinion!
Cheers and have a Happy New Year!
Jason
Upon further review, your comment about artificially sweetened finish in your review - I can't get it out of my mind now when drinking it. It's definitely there. Yuk. I wish I'd never met you Jason Debly!!! :)
ReplyDeleteSigned - Anonymous poster of December 30.
Hello again Anonymous poster of Dec 30th! That sweet finish is in my opinion indicative of too much grain whiskies and not enough aging. Cheap to make, cheap to buy, and cheap taste. Spend a couple dollars more for Johnnie Walker Black or a few less for Teacher's Highland Cream for more satisfaction!
ReplyDeleteI have just been given a bottle of this by some of my colleagues for my birthday. When I return in a few days, how am I ever going to find something nice to say about it? Or are they trying to tell me something?
ReplyDeleteI read this review after attempting my first glass. I just can't believe there's a market for anything this bad, I had to check to make sure I wasn't imagining it. It tastes sour and acidic, like sucking a leaky battery. The only redeeming feature I can think of is that there's a bottle of Stone's downstairs. I've never been a fan of whisky mac, but I think I'm going to be. Either that, or I'm going to possess the cleanest lavatory in the county. Unless, of course, this stuff dissolves porcelain as well.
It's easy to find (for example) Aberlour 10 for under £20 in the UK and while that probably isn't the best whisky ever made, it is extremely good value for money. Faced with that, I cannot understand why anyone could buy this muck.
Ian, your colleagues probably thought they got you a nice gift. They bought a 12 year old blend, so they certainly did not buy the cheapest in the market. Unfortunately, they did give you one of the worst blended scotch whiskies available today.
ReplyDeletePretty dreadful stuff!
Aberlour on the other hand for the price is pretty good. Right you are.
What I did with Dewars is I gave it away to someone who uses scotch as the base of mixed drinks. But, now that you mention it, it probably would make for a good bathroom cleaner!
I have had the 50s dewars standard. Is custard cream for sure and thats it. No problem. Ballintines was creme lemon with wood smoke with this nice grainyness in 50 or 60s bottle. Unfortunaly ballintines is not the same from last purchase. I will past on sny dewars. A 2006 whisky book describe dewars as good just the blends I'm getting of shelf are just shit. Including teachers cream is just crap last time. My current ballintines was not grainy not wood smoke and more like nutrisweet. CRAP.
ReplyDeleteJason,
ReplyDeleteI know, been bombing your older commets more lately! Never had this expression of Dewar's, and you are not the first to warn of it's poor value that I have heard. I have sampled the entry White Label on a couple occasions, and found it enjoyable, if very one dimensional. Sweet, but I didn't find it to a cloying level, and there was a bit of an ever so slightly peated honey/heather dynamic I found amusing. Would you say the entry is a better value for money?
-Yochanan
Yochanan, I think the entry level Dewar's, for the price, is much better. I have been meaning to review it, but there is always something else in the pecking order!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, back to your question, I would say that the entry level White Label is decent value for money, unlike it's 12 yr old sibling, which I would not buy at any price.
I'm oddly curious about this blend. I greatly enjoy Dewar's White Label (some honey, some lemon, some peat, all fairly creamy), and I've seen fairly positive reviews from this from trustworthy folks so I'd like to compare them (that said, they might have been for the 12 yo double-aged, which could be a different composition). Alas, a full bottle is too much of a gamble, but I can't get it in a 50ml mini. I have a theory that perhaps the rough youth of the White Label holds the sweetness in check, but the greater age smooths out the zest of youth, leaving only the sweet. I'd need to try it to be sure, but buying it just doesn't make sense at this time.
ReplyDelete///
"I still have about half a bottle. I am not going to finish it. I will give it to someone, but the questions is: Who do I dislike that much?"
While this particular bottle is no doubt long gone, I've often enjoyed making liqueurs (such as they are) from whiskies I haven't liked, or alternately just cooked with them.
Good clean jar (the thin neck of the bottles can be problematic), toss in some fruit of some kind, let it sit for two weeks, strain, let it sit for another two before drinking. Raisins and other dried fruits work great, I've had good results combining peaches and Canadian whiskies, and cherries are definitely good. Spices work great as well. Cinnamon sticks, orange peel, and cloves are all solid. Using cardamon or black pepper are probably viable, and some Eastern European Peperivka recipes are just with whisky and dried cayenne soaked in there.
The other great thing: depending on what you use to flavor the whisky, you can make good use of it once you strain it out from the spirit. Drunken peach cobbler, classic fruitcake (really good when made with well-macerated quality dried fruit), and so forth. Another winner was making a stovetop vanilla pudding and stirring in a bunch of whisky-soaked raisins and a spoonful or two of the whisky liqueur. Bourbon Brownie Bites went well too, replacing the water on a simple box mix with whisky and adding in a bunch of nuts and chopped cherries.
None of that is any more noble than just mixing bad whisky, but it can be fun.
I think I will take Ralfy's (ralfy.com) advice and go ahead and purchase this malt. He recommends this blend for single malt drinkers as well. This product has too much mixed reviews so I'm just going to try it for myself, although I will not get to it for a while since there are a few other bottles waiting to be opened at my bar at home.
ReplyDeleteWhen you do try it, let me know what you think.
ReplyDeleteSo you wanted to know what I thought of Dewar's 12 once I've tried it. I decided to go out and purchase a bottle yesterday. Before I give you my opinion pour yourself a glass, give it a gentle swirl and let it sit for 30-45 minutes. Do not add any water. Let me know if you see an improvement in it after trying this one again that way. I think oxygenation is might be the answer here.
ReplyDelete-Marius
If you have not yet tried to let this whisky settle in your glass for a bit then you are not allowing it to open up. Dewar's 12 is a very shy blend and thats okay. There are times when you pour yourself a glass of whisky and you put your nose in it and wouldn't you know it... you smell nothing. Dewar's 12 is also a delicate whisky when it comes to adding water. I personally recommend no water because I think that it ruins the structure of the blend. A rule of thumb, only add water to a blend if it has a high malt percentage (such as Teachers 45% malt and any Johnnie Walker).
ReplyDeletePalate:
Ginger, pepper, citrus, oak, hint of smoke, honey and fruit (grape, pomegranate, apple and pear).
Would I buy Dewar's 12 again?
I think so. I think it's a good quality blend and it really isn't expensive. It also gives you a comforting feeling and a pleasant dry affect that reminds me of what you get when you bite into vineyard grapes with seeds (not the crappy store grapes in the US) or when you eat pomegranate seeds. Don't let the mixed reviews scare you off.
-Marius
Hi Marius,
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can think of is that I got a flawed bottle and you have a good one, because our taste experience is very different.
I no longer have that bottle. I gave it away, so I cannot do the experiment of letting it breathe as you suggest.
I suggest readers, if interested, sample this in a bar before going out and buying a bottle.
Cheers!
Marius,
ReplyDeleteI have also noticed that Dewars have dropped the "Special Reserve" reference in the new label. Maybe they have also tinkered with the mash bill, aging, and wood treatment to improve the taste over what I experienced. Who knows? I will try and give it a go sometime in a bar, and if the results are more positive I will review this again.
Generally, variance from year to year in blended scotch is very slight if at all noticeable, unlike single malt scotch, but who knows?
Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.
Those factors are definitely possible. I have recently purchased two defective blends. Isle of Skye 8 and Black Bottle, which are both exceptional whiskies.
ReplyDeleteI purchased the Dewar's 12 that came in the gold box (bottle number: B14784) and it has "Special Reserve" printed on the bottle and box. I have never tried the older bottle. Maybe I can get a hold of the older bottling from someone to compare...
-Marius
If you are referring to the blue color label Dewar's 12 as the new bottling I did not purchase this version because I don't like the look. My bottle looks like the one you have pictured, but in a gold box instead of black. I don't think there is a difference in taste, but I'll research it to make sure. You may have just bought a defect...
ReplyDelete-Marius
Jason, I always buy miniatures of whisky I haven't tried, and recently found one of Dewar's 12. You're right on! I don't think it's quite as sweet as you think, but otherwise totally agree. The sherry is kindof funky and off, and there's way too much "graininess" which just seems like too much alcohol presence. I don't think it's so bad that I couldn't finish a bottle, but I'd say it's right alongside The Famous Grouse. I don't think that's the competition they were shooting for, though. There's no chance I'd buy over JW Black or Chivas. It's actually more expensive than Chivas here, about the same as JWB.
ReplyDeleteRyan, Dewar's 12 was one of the most grainy blends I ever had. So bad it was that I almost think the bottle may have been flawed. Sometime I may buy another and do an updated version of this blend.
ReplyDeleteI like it. But what the hell do I know.
ReplyDeleteChris
Chris, a lot of people do like it, so I think you are with the majority.
DeleteI am not a fan, but part of that is because for the money I think there are better options, and well the other part is, I just dont like the taste.
But, if you like it, maybe the next step is to try some others.
Thanks for commenting.