Dewar’s 38 Double Double is a Fantastic Blended Malt

Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

If you’re a scotch whisky fan, you’re well aware that many people think of blends as being inferior to single malts. That may be true in some (or many) cases, but blended scotch outsells single malts by a wide margin because of how much more affordable and accessible it usually is. One new blend that surpasses many similarly aged single malts in terms of quality, even if it’s not exactly affordable at $2,200 per bottle, is the new Dewar’s Double Double 38 Year Old Blended Malt Scotch Whisky.

This release is part of an ongoing series from Dewar’s, a brand that was founded in 1846 by the titular John Dewar. White Label is the brand’s core expression, and while maybe not as popular as Johnnie Walker Black, it’s a whisky you’ll find at most bars and in many liquor cabinets. There are also a few younger age statement expressions from Dewar’s, with the 18-year-old standing out in particular. But over the past few years the brand started releasing some expensive, ultra-aged blends as part of its Double Double range. That name refers to a double maturation process that takes place in four steps: The whisky is aged in casks, blended, put back into barrels to age again, and then finished in a different type of cask. In the case of the new 38-year-old, those casks are Pedro Ximenez sherry butts that were previously used to age Royal Brackla, a single malt owned by parent company Bacardi.

This new whisky is a blended malt and not a blended scotch, which means there is no grain whisky in the mix. It’s also a continuation of the last release, a 37-year-old blend that was finished in Oloroso sherry casks. The core whisky was aged for an additional year and then finished in used PX casks, a sweeter style of sherry, and the result is a decadent and fantastic whisky. There are notes of raisin, fig, plum, cherry, and dark chocolate on the palate, intermingled with flavors like molasses, preserved lemon, and even some grape jelly. Some of the tropical fruit notes that often pop up in a scotch whisky aged for this long are present, but they are dominated by these other flavors which is a good thing.

Maybe the concept of single malts being better than blends is one that serious whisky drinkers don’t really abide by anymore. There is good reason for that—newer companies like Compass Box have focused on making high-quality blends by sourcing various whiskies and carefully assembling the components into sums that are greater than the parts. Also, affordable, everyday blends like Dewar’s White Label, Johnnie Walker Black, or Famous Grouse are kind of like whisky comfort foods. These blends are pretty solid options, and often the entry point for people just starting their journey into the world of scotch whisky. If you’re looking to spend a little more money on a contemplative and seductive sipper, however, give the new Dewar’s 38 a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Score: 94