Dewar's Signature

Dewar’s Signature is a blended Scotch whisky with no age statement, bottled at 40% ABV. It sells for around $200-300. The Dewar’s version of things is that “the heart” of this blend is a 27 year old Aberfeldy. The heart probably does not mean the majority, or they would have used more precise wording. The heart of a human being, for example, is less than 1% of a human being, by mass. What I am trying to suggest is that how can Dewar’s afford to put anything except Mott’s Apple Juice, mixed with moonshine, mixed with less than 1% twenty-seven year old Aberfeldy when this whisky is put in an extraordinarily heavy bottle in an extraordinarily shiny lacquered wooden box, and not charge like $500? And yet they managed. This whisky is very Aberfeldy, and quite aged. There are undoubtedly some grain whiskies in this blend, but they are not there to cut costs, and add to the overall experience. Honestly, if I was trying this blind, with the false information that Compass Box composed this blended Scotch, I would believe it. The only cheap ingredient in here is water. The majority of this whisky is water. If you can tolerate a 40% ABV dram, then this one shouldn’t be too disappointing. It is, display box and all, certainly a pleaser for the masses. Most often, I get beautiful notes of orange peel, milk chocolate, honey, and sponge cake. Cake is probably the theme of this whisky. Its layers of complexity can all be reminiscent of various light cakes: peach cobbler pound cake, fresh apple cake, Rice Crispies cake. The secondary theme is flowers. You can imagine some rose in here, but mostly even lighter flowers, such as freesia, lavender, and gardenia. All of this is appropriate for this time of the year (beginning of summer). Would this be a better whisky at a higher ABV? Yes. Recently, I have been appreciative of lower ABV expressions, and wondering how much of the quest for full cask-strength expressions is just alcoholism. 40% ABV is plenty of ABV for average people, who will probably even add an ice cube to cool this “beast” down, but I have not yet returned to such plebeian behavior. I can imagine that, if this Dewar’s Signature was at 46%, it would have my full endorsement. 46%, or a heavy metal stopper. This current stopper is plastic, which is a little bit of an embarrassment. The stopper is the shoes of a luxurious whisky presentation. This is like showing up in a bespoke tailored suit from Milan and Kenneth Cole shoes. The headline for this review could be “Dewar’s Signature is surprisingly good, will appeal to most people, and you can only dislike it if you are a whisky snob AND an alcoholic”, or “Dewar’s signature is mostly water, in a bottle, with a plastic stopper.”

Lots of honey and rich toffee. Mild on the tongue with a strong finish.