I was pleasantly surprised by the Dewars 12. It was a substantially better experience than the White Label for a very minimal price bump. I jumped over the 15 for this one—for no reason at all. It’s a odd that I would skip and I’m not sure what my rationale was when I purchased this. But smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. Nose: Butterscotch, honey, toffee, and vanilla. Pear and apricot. Golden raisin. Some of the soapy notes I often get in blends. Sugar cookie. Almond and walnut. Cinnamon and white pepper. Palate: Apple, pear, golden raisin raisin, and a heavy apricot note. Heaps of cereal grain. Some milk chocolate, vanilla, and toffee. Almond is prominent, along with walnut. Honey. Coconut flakes. Butterscotch in heaps. Apple cider. Sugar cookie. Finish: Apple, pear, apricot. Golden raisin and some green grape. A bit of apple cider. Light cinnamon and white pepper. Moderate to short length. We’re not re-inventing the wheel. This is an amazingly easy-drinker. It’s the oldest blend I’ve reviewed to date, and the pronounced rough edges I get from blended Scotch are blunted to the point that they present as notes as opposed to the crux of the profile. You just get a subtle reminder from time to time that it’s a blend. But it’s really quite pleasant. At the same time, it isn’t all that interesting. There were plenty of notes, and I’m not calling it non-descript, but it’s definitely generic and walks a well-traveled path. At $75, it’s still a hell of a volume for the significant age statement. The 40% ABV is what kills it here. I understand that this is budget juice, but if you’re going to through the trouble of aging it for almost two decades, what is a slight kick in ABV really going to do to their bottom line? Probably more than Bacardi would stand to lose, but even a slight increase would allow this to develop into something a little more impactful. 3.25/5.