Review: Dewar’s 12 Year Special Reserve Scotch
A cut above standard grade Dewar’s, this 12-year-old blended Scotch is as smooth as they come. Honey is brightest on the palate, and a smoky, tobacco-laden aftertaste lingers on the finish. Light and almost crisp (imagine biting into a fresh apple), this is a whisky that’s best straight up, without water or ice.
At just $24 a bottle (vs. $18 for regular Dewar’s White Label), why would you buy the younger stuff? (White Label, like all Scotch, is required, by law, to spend three years in casks but the bottle itself carries no explicit age labeling.) I’d give standard Dewar’s a B-; though it has the same honey character, it lacks nuance beyond that. It’s considerably harsher, and I think it needs a good splash of water to open it up.
Oh, and lest I fall down on the job: Dewar’s? I don’t even know ‘ers!
A- / $24 / dewars.com
January 25th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I don’t know, $24 vs $18 is a 33% increase on price. That is big bucks down the road for your run-of-the-mill lush (me).
January 26th, 2008 at 9:54 am
I hear your pain, but $24 for grade-A hooch is a very good deal. Plus, consider that there’s 15 shots in a bottle. That works out to just 40 cents extra a shot. Now you’d pay an extra 40 cents for a significantly better drink, wouldn’t you?