If White Label is the foot soldier of the house, the twelve year old is the dress uniform. Dewar's call it Double Aged, and the name is not idle marketing: after the component malts and grains have each reached their twelfth year, the blend is married for a further period in oak, a practice A.J. Cameron formalised at the turn of the twentieth century and which the company has maintained ever since.
The heart remains Aberfeldy, whose honeyed Highland character gives the blend its spine. Around it sit grain whiskies of considerable age and a supporting cast of malts from the Dewar's stable — Aultmore, Craigellachie, Royal Brackla and Macduff, the five distilleries that make up the John Dewar & Sons group under Bacardi's ownership since 1998.
The nose is pleasingly coherent: heather honey, toffee, baked apple, a wisp of vanilla. The palate follows honestly — honeyed malt, raisin, a toasted almond note, light oak tannin holding everything in place. The finish is medium-long and warming, with that Aberfeldy honey lingering agreeably.
This is the bottle to reach for when you want a blend that behaves like a malt without the malt's price. It is not showy, and those seeking fireworks will need to look elsewhere; but for the drinker who values proportion and a job properly done, the twelve is a quiet pleasure. Cameron would, I suspect, approve.
