John Dewar & Sons
Dewar's is a brand of blended Scotch whisky.
History
The Dewar's whisky brand was created by John Dewar, Sr. in 1846. Under the control of his two sons, John A. Dewar Jr. (Lord Forteviot) and Thomas "Tommy" Dewar (Lord Dewar), the brand expanded to become a global market by 1896. Tommy became famous as the author of a travel journal, Ramble Round the Globe, which documented his travels while publicizing the Dewar name. Dewar's eventually expanded their product by constructing the Aberfeldy Distillery in 1896, which produces single malt Scotch whisky under the labels Aberfeldy 12 and Aberfeldy 21.
The company joined Distillers Company in 1925. Distillers was acquired by Guinness in 1986, and Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan to form Diageo in 1997. Diageo sold Dewar's to Bacardi the next year.
Master Blenders
- A.J. Cameron was the first appointed Master Blender of the Dewar's brand. He was responsible for creating the Dewar's White Label blend whisky, which remains the most popular of all Dewar's brands. Cameron also pioneered the "marrying process" to further highlight and harmonise the blend whiskys. The marrying process occurs after the single malts have been aged for the appropriate time period. To achieve the true "Dewar's Blends" the malts are mixed together, but before they are bottled for sale they are left to mix together more completely to ensure a harmonized aroma and flavor. The marrying process, or its other name the "double-ageing process," lasts approximately 3 months.
- Tom Aitken has since retired in the summer of 2006, preceding the current Master Blender, but is responsible for creating the Dewar's 12 Blend Scotch Whisky and the Dewar's Signature blend. Tom Aitken worked for Dewar's for 25 years, with 20 of those years exclusively in the blending department. He began as a laboratory chemist at Inverhouse Distilleries in 1970 and had the responsibility of analyzing the new and mature spirits at the distillery.
- Stephanie Macleod is the current Master Blender and one of few senior women on the production side of Scotch Whisky. She first came to work at Dewar's in 1998 where she was placed in charge of the Spirit Quality Laboratories at the company's head office in Glasgow. She has performed extensive research studying the maturation secrets of Scotch Whisky. Partnered with her extensive scientific knowledge and her impeccable sensory skills she was appointed to be the assistant blender under Tom Aitken, thus showing her the intricacies of the Master Blending job at Dewar's. [1]"
Distilleries
- Aberfeldy is the home of the Aberfeldy 12-year and Aberfeldy 21-year single malt Scotch Whiskies. The distillery is located where Perthshire's highest mountain, deepest loch, and longest glen meet, and is historically and geographically the 'Heart of Scotland'.[2]
- Aultmore is located in a remote part of the Speyside region of Scotland. This distillery was purchased by John Dewar from Alexander Edwards in the 1920s [3]. Around Aultmore, the Foggie Moss provides a water source for the distillery.
- Craigellachie is located in the whisky region of Spey and was founded in 1891. It stands on a hill overlooking the Rock of Craigellachie, the River Spey and Thomas Telfords' single span Iron Bridge of 1815. The distillery uses a spring on Little Conval Hill as their water source.
- Macduff is located in the Speyside whisky region of Scotland and was founded in 1962. It is located on the ancient River Deveron and the distillery pulls its water from the Gelly Burn. Whisky has been produced here for centuries, with records dating back to the 1700s.
- Royal Brackla is located in the Highland region of Scotland and was the first distillery to receive a royal warrant. It is near Cawdor and Macbeth country. The distillery was founded in 1812 by Captain William Fraser [4]. Royal Brackla draws its water from the Cowdor Burn.
Dewar's Products
- Dewar's White Label was first created in 1899 by John Dewar & Son's first Master Blender, A.J. Cameron. It has proven to be the company's most popular blended Scotch Whisky over the past 100 years. [5]. A mixture of up to 40 single malt Scotch whiskies, the taste is characterized as "heather and honey.[6]"
- Dewar's 12 is another blended Scotch Whisky that contains a mixture of different 12 year old malt and grain Scotch whiskies. Dewar's 12 brand was first created by Dewar's sixth master blender, Tom Aitken. This particular blend uses the "marrying process," which is an extra period occurring after the different blends from the various regions of Scotland have been combined. The blend sits in reserved oak casks, allowing the different flavours and aromas to harmonise in order to achieve the Dewar's 12 blend. A.J. Cameron first pioneered this technique of lengthening the resting process in order to truly homogenize the different qualities of the various whiskies within the different blends. The palate of this particular blend has been characterized as "rich, fruity sweetness...with a hint of oak.[7]" This offering has performed extremely well at international Spirit ratings competitions. From the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, it has received double gold, gold, and silver medals consistently over the last several years.[1] Proof66.com, which aggregates those scores and others to form a "pooled" score, classifies the 12-year as a "Tier 1" spirit—the highest tier.[1]
- Dewar's Signature is the product of more than 150 years of blending tradition and was first blended by Master Blender Tom Aitken. The core of this rare and matured blend is Aberfeldy Single Malt whisky, which has been aged beyond its years [8]. The Dewar's Signature undergoes the marrying process to finalize and homogenize its flavours. The palate is described as, "sweet and smooth with a full bodied creamy texture and mouth warming effect. [9]"
- Aberfeldy 12 is part of the single malt collection of the Dewar's brand, first bottled in 1999. This Highland Single Malt has limited quantities and is considered the "heart of the Dewar's blends [10]." The palate has been described as 'heather and honey' with a sense of syrupy texture [11].
- Aberfeldy 21 is a longer aged single malt whisky that further accents the palate and aromas of the Aberfeldy 12. Its palate boasts of lighter sensation with a long and dry finish. Vanilla, sandalwood, and seville oranges, have also been noted as flavours emerging from this single malt Scotch. It has been awarded a Grand Gold Medal at Monde Selection for several years.
Visiting Dewar's World of Whisky
Aberfeldy distillery is home of Dewar's World of Whisky, which tells the story of the Dewar family and the whisky brand they developed.
- Miami Heat Dewar's 12 Lounge
- Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a large festival with performing military bands and recognizing different teams in the capital city. Dewar's became the official sponsor in 2002.
- Wonkette, a blog published by Gawker Media that details the going-ons of the political establishment in Washington D.C.
- Ze Frank, a popular online performance artist, composor and public speaker based out of Brooklyn, New York.
- The Onion, a popular humorous newspaper that provides social commentary on current events.
- LVHRD, pronounced 'Live Hard' is an event series in NYC for creative types, include the Architects Duel.
- The Dewarists, a music show telecasted by Star World India where artists come together and create songs. Hosted by Monica Dogra.
Advertising
- Dewar's Scotch Whisky delivered the first motion picture advertisement for a drink in 1897. The advertisement was presented on the roof of a building in New York's Herald Square and was produced by the Edison Company.
- Andrew Carnegie sent a small barrel of Dewar's Whisky to President Benjamin Harrison in 1891. The President was criticized by the press for supporting a foreign brand and not a domestic bourbon, but this ended up doing wonders for Dewar's advertising as orders from all over the United States began to pour in for Dewars Whisky.[12]
In popular culture
- The premier rugby union competition in Victoria, Australia, the Dewar Shield, is named for the company. The Shield, which, at 102 years, is the oldest continuous rugby competition in Australia, was donated by the company to the Victorian Rugby Union in 1909, to celebrate the Union's inauguration.[2]
- Dewar's is a favorite drink of the protagonist in Augusten Burroughs book entitled "Dry."
- Dewar's is a favorite drink of the protagonist in Linda Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper series.
References
External links