Scotch Whisky Review #275: Dewar’s 18 Year

Distillery: Blend

Bottler: Dewar’s

Region: Blend

Age: 18 year.

ABV: 43.0%

Price: 375 mL bottle for $31.50

Color: 1.4, Tawny.

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Nose: (according to the wife) Grapes come through heavily in the form of both white wine and raisins. There’s some old, worn leather and the tiniest hint of heather.

Palate: Generic scotch whisky flavor. It has a grain sweetness and tastes almost like a blend of liquefied Carr’s whole wheat crackers and plain Cheerios. There’s a tinge of marmalade to keep it from being too boring. It does go down quite smoothly, but a flavorful dram this is not.

Finish: Medium-to-short in length. Vanilla and a bit of cream wraps things up.

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Conclusion: If there ever were a poster child for generic Scotch whisky, this must surely be it. Unlike some of the lesser Dewar’s releases, this one is very easy to drink. Unfortunately, that means it gives up a bit in the flavor department. The nose is nice and fun, with some grape variants and a little bit of earthy and floral going on. The finish isn’t bad at all with a nice vanilla cream. It’s the flavor, or lack thereof, you get in the palate is what makes this so generic for me. It tastes of liquefied baked grain goods with a hint of marmalade on the side. It’s not bad by any definition of the word, but highly generic in flavor. Would I buy another bottle? I bought this one as I was traveling and wanted something I knew I could finish in two weeks or so and I didn’t have to think about much. For that purpose, I think I might get this again but not for another.

Final Score: 74.

Scotch Whisky Review #275, Blended Review #16, Whisky Network Review #418

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.