Alright so continuing our diverse coverage here, time for more scotch. We go a little lower this time though with Dewar’s White Label a common staple in bars and mixers – which always never made sense to me.
Mostly because I just could never figure out why people wouldn’t just get Famous Grouse, or possibly JW Red. I mean White Label is comparative in quality and price at that level, but it often appeared to be a little worse for taste and price than it’s rivals – and lacked the brand recognition of JW or the better product that is Grouse.
What they Say: “Born into a humble farming family, John Dewar rejected tradition and set out to create the finest blended whiskies in the world. And that’s just what he did.
Tommy was a larger than life personality. Anyone who shared a Scotch with him would walk away with a Dewarism to ponder. He’s long gone, but his wisdom remains.
John Alexander Dewar and Tommy Dewar were as different as night and day but they shared a love of fine whisky. Tommy, charismatic and gregarious, handled advertising while John, quiet and focused, stayed behind to build the business. In the end, their lives turned out as unique as the whisky they produced. ”
Taste: 3.0 – It starts off light and fruity, but there’s this other undercurrent of taste that runs through both this and the aftertaste. It’s sort of like a sour peaty taste that ultimately brings it down.
Aftertaste: 3.0 – Here we get a much smokier bolder taste, but it still has that undercurrent. And it leaves you with little warmth, and the lingering smoky taste is ruined by the secondary.
Burn/Smooth: 4.5 – As mentioned above this doesn’t go down smooth, it does however not offer a lot of burn though.
Aroma: 4.5 – It’s a good smell, light, but you still get a whiff of alcohol that the scotch doesn’t replace with a wonderful smell.
Honesty: 4.5 – It is a scotch, but Dewars just can’t compete against it’s Walker and Grouse rivals for White Label, and it’s just not good enough.
Mixability: 5.25
On Rocks: 4.5 – It gets a lot better here, but it’s still just not good.
Whisky Ginger: 6.0 – It’s okay
Value: 3.0 – It’s just not able to compete value wise with Grouse or Red.
Google Shop Average: $21
Website: http://thedrinkingmansscotch.dewars.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 3.0
Want to compare this spirit against our archives? Visit our statistics page.
Metric Score: 27.75/70 |+| Metric Average: 3.96 |+| Reviewer Average: 3.0
New to Honest Booze Reviews, or just wondering how we score? See our FAQ/Review Policy.
Final Thoughts:
I need to try an older Dewar’s and see if they are either just bad at making good scotch, or bad at making cheap scotch.
Dewar’s Caribbean Smooth 8 Year Old Rum Cask Finish is the best they have to offer, if you can bring yourself to trying Dewar’s again.