Dewar’s 12y Ancestor Blend with Dan, Davey, Matt & Steve

As this project has gone on, we’ve found a unique kind of satisfaction in checking off another expression of a brand we’ve enjoyed before. The completist’s high, the collector’s sense of progress.

This isn’t that.

Dewar’s 12y comes in a fantastically designed bottle & sleeve combination that I think is a nod to Compass Box and what they’re doing – it certainly looks like they’re trying to tap into a “premium blend” market. But while it may look like “premium”, the taste is certifiably “regular unleaded”. Unlike some other aged expressions from unaged bottlers we’ve tried, this isn’t just the White Label aged for 12 years. The 12y is its own blend, but after tasting both it’s hard to see why they’d bother. Here’s what we thought:

colour
Dan – light brown honey
Davey – orange
Steve – honey
Matt – orange
Simon – copper

nose
Dan – do not like. hint of wood, bog water, smells cold
Davey – rich apple cider
Steve – sweet red bean like lik m aid stick
Matt – baclava sweet
Simon – little peat

neat
Dan – better, light, spicy, bland, astringent spicyness, burnt caramel
Davey – thick, not good
Steve – blorps. tastes like the cask
Matt – oily, warm, wood
Simon – thin, oily, spicy like a shitty rye

finish
Dan – spicy, light & oily
Davey – pasty
Steve – no burn
Matt – oil
Simon – spice tingle

splash
Dan – worse. brings out tartness, spicy. like cough syrup, coffee bitter
Davey – better, but not good
Steve – nope
Matt – kills sweet, only burn
Simon – soap

overall
Dan – 5.5/10
Davey – 3/10
Steve – 2/10
Matt – 3/10
Simon – 3/10

Dewar’s 12y Ancestor Blend – 40% 750ml – $46.95 – Scotland

Try it? Do not. Buy it? Unnecessary.