dmoyer
Dewar's 12 Year The Ancestor (Discontinued)
Blended — Scotland
Reviewed
October 21, 2017 (edited November 10, 2019)
I had never tried a blended scotch before now. I dove into the scotch world head first with single malts. So I decided to see what the big deal was between the blended and single malt worlds. I chose Dewars 12 yr as my first blended scotch, partly due to their excellent ad campaign (seriously, who doesn't like the ad with the guy on the motorcycle bringing a bottle of scotch to see his Dad?) and partly because it was an age stated blend at a very reasonable $35. Now I get it.
Dewars 12 yr is a blend of "over 40" different scotch whiskys, with the bulk of the blend coming from Aberfeldy, "the distillery that Dewars built" according to the web. Having never had any Aberfeldy I can't comment to that but I can tell that this blended scotch (and I assume others as well) is just a toned down (i.e., watered down) version of single malt scotch. It has all of the characteristics of a single malt but none of the "oomph". Flavor without the punch, fireworks without the boom, choose your euphemism.
Dewars 12 yr is bottled at 40% ABV. In the glass this dram is a medium gold color. Swirling produces quick, skinny legs with some visible water beads. The nose is what I have come to think of as a typical scotch profile: floral, honey sweetness with orchard fruits (apples, pears). Very mild and no complexity at all. The palate is more of the same: sweet honey, orchard fruits, and pepper. The finish is short and unremarkable with some oak tones and more pepper.
I can see why this is popular: it's very easy drinking (almost too easy!), has no objectionable flavors, and doesn't overpower the senses. But once you've developed a palate for single malts/peat/barrel strength whiskys, this is very underwhelming. I'm sure there are some out there who would think this is the bomb. But for me, it's just average. 3/5. Cheers!
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