Dewar's White Label

I started drinking Dewar's White Label sometime around 1984, so this is a pretty familiar scotch to me. For a long, long time it was my daily drinker. As my available funds became a bit more flexible, my tastes changed and I progressed to single malts, bourbons and, my favorite, rye. But when I'm up against the wall and White Label is all that's to hand, I have no problems with it. This taste was courtesy of American Airlines at 32,000 feet. Served on ice. At least it was a real glass. Dewar's is okay. It tastes like grain alcohol with a few drops of a smokey something or other in there. It's like a real scotch whisky only without all the complexity, aroma and taste. Scotch from a fast food restaurant would taste like this. My favorite way to enjoy Dewar's White Label is 50/50 with soda. White Label has a bit of an antiseptic note that I'm not particularly happy with. It's less noticeable when served on the rocks, and it goes without saying that this particular whisky isn't intended to be drunk neat. This might not sound like a reverberating endorsement, but the truth is there are worse things one could find in one's glass. Like the other white label - Jim Beam - this is just a working class dram. It's not a world beater and it doesn't offend my taste buds. It's the 8th best selling scotch in the world at 2.8+ million cases (according to The Spirits Business web site), and that has to count for something. In my world an average nothing-special bottle that's available everywhere nets a 2.5 rating. right in the middle of the bell curve. Dewar's White Label is running with the pack, although I docked it a quarter point based on price. It seems like its just a bit more expensive than it ought to be. You won't find White Label in my liquor cabinet, but I'm happy to have it on a flight....

Neat: more of a sweet corn/Bourbon malt initial taste to me. The peat doesn't seem to be that prevalent. In fact, the smoke is more like cigarette ashes than a fine cigar tobacco leaf. With a droplet: the burn mellows out but it's still ASHY. Vanilla comes out a bit. Seem like an off-blend of disparate elements that don't quite mesh.

This Scotch needs more credit in my opinion, slightly longer hotter finish than JWB. A tad thinner. Vanilla honey tones. I enjoyed it. Nice mild peat smoke. No bad flavors to speak of. Will buy again.