Whisky I've Drank: Whyte & Mackay Aged 13 Years

By Richard Thomas

Rating: C

In a nutshell, Whyte & Mackay blend their scotch twice. The first blending is of single malts, which are mixed together and then aged in old sherry casks. After a time, the scotch is then mixed with grain whiskey and stored in a fresh set of sherry casks for a further year of aging. Therefore, whatever the age of a Whyte & Mackay scotch, most of it is spent in that first stage, with the final mixing and aging serving as sort of a finishing process. Taken as a whole, the process is most unusual, since it is more common in whiskey-making to blend the product either before or after after aging, rather than before and in the midst of aging.Whyte & Mackay are a Glasgow label, have been in the scotch whiskey business since 1844, and are now owned by an Indian conglomerate. This is another one of those labels that, like VAT 69, were famous several decades ago (Shackleton took the stuff with him to Antarctica, and you can see boxes of Whyte & Mackay in the classic gangster film Public Enemy), but are largely forgotten in modern times. However, the label is recognizable for its thoroughly British double lion iconography, while the scotch itself is distinguished by Whyte & Mackay’s “double marriage” maturation process.

The Scotch

Whyte & Mackay’s 13 year, also referred to simply as “The Thirteen,” is their second-tier scotch, only one step up from the entry-level “Special” label. The bottle is pretty standard stuff, with a metal screw top, and shows off the scotch’s glowing amber-gold coloring nicely. My bottle came with an aerator, however, and I simply detest those things. As the name implies, it is bottled after 13 years of maturation, and at 40% alcohol.

The scent of the Thirteen is subdued and mellow, with a hint of sherry. The flavor of Whyte and Mackay’s 13 year continues the mellowness, becoming floral, sweet and just a little spicy. The scotch washes down with a mildly spicy finish.

The Price

Whyte and Mackay isn’t common in the United States, and if you can find a bottle, it will retail for between $25 and $35. It is somewhat more common in Europe, where you often find it priced for between 16 and 18 euros, but sometimes as much as 20 euros. If you are traveling in India, Whyte and Mackay becomes a nice choice compared to some of the rotgut being passed around there as “whiskey.”

Awards

Whyte and Mackay’s 13 Year Old won a Silver at the 2010 International Wine and Spirits Competition.

Whisky I've Drank: Dewar´s Aged 12 Years - The Ancestor

By Josh Peters
Dewar’s 12 Years is a whisky I’ve been wanting to try for a while. It’s no secret that I’m not a huge fan of the regular Dewar’s White, I’ve expressed that on more than one occasion, but something like this hopefully showed some promise. Since it carries a 12 year age statement that means every component, both grain and single malts, need to be aged at least 12 years and as we’ve discovered over the years, aged grain whisky can be quite nice.
True 12 years is some distance from the 25+ where grain really starts to get good, but it’s a large leap up from the minimum 3 years that’s needed to allow it into NAS blends. The single malts follow the same route and every drop of Aberfeldy, Craigellachie, Royal Brackla, The Deveron, Aultmore, and all the rest are at least 12 years old. Which is great, but then they go and neuter it by dropping the ABV down to 40%. So is life.
Dewar’s 12 Years Info:
Region: Scotland
Blender: Dewar’s
Cask: Various
Age: 12 years
ABV: 40%
Price: $25
- Dewar’s 12 Years Review:
EYE
Caramel – me thinks thar’s some e150 in ‘ere.
NOSE
Caramel, smoky malt, citrus peels apple, spice, strawberry frosting and a touch of iodine, graham and fresh pastries. It’s not a dense aroma, rather light and etherial, but it’s definitely a pleasant aroma. I have no qualms with what’s going on, I just wish it were bolder.
PALATE
Caramel, orchard fruit, sweetness, malt, touch of smoke, strawberry frosting with a bit of spice, raisins and cocoa. Like the nose it’s a great experience overall, it just happens to be so light that it leaves me wanting more.
FINISH
Short drop of toasted grains, citrus, smoke, malt and dried fruit.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Good balance, thin body, soft nearly watery feel.
OVERALL
Dewar’s 12 is a decent sipping whisky and something I’m very glad I tried, but it’s also something I’m a bit disappointed in. When doing a blind Aberfeldy tasting at Malt Nuts we tasted one of the older 43% bottles of the Dewar’s 12 and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought it had some real character to it, but it seems that small 3% drop in ABV has noticeably dulled it down.
It’s still a decent dram and as a way to kick off an evening or sit and sip after a meal it works well, it also makes an acceptable Rob Roy, the only thing it’s really missing is some richness. I would love to experience this whisky at 46%, non-chill filtered and with no e150. It has enough good things going on inside of it that with less water, and leaving it’s natural oils intact, it could easily go from a decent blend to a great whisky.
SCORE: 81/100 (B-)*Disclosure: This sample of Dewar's 12 Years was graciously sent to me by the company for the purposes of this review. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.

Dewar's 12 Years Review - Score Breakdown
Nose - 83
Palate - 82
Finish - 80
Balance, Body & Feel - 79
Summary:
Dewar's 12 Years is a fun whisky and should definitely not be overlooked if you’re searching for something cheap and easy to sip.

Whisky I've Drank: Dimple/Pinch Aged 15 Years

By Richard Thomas
Rating: B-
The name comes from the dimpled bottle design used by Haig in the 1880s or 1890s (reports vary), leading to the introduction of the Dimple 15 Year Old blend we know today. Reportedly, it contains a higher than normal malt proportion, including stuff from Glenkinchie and Linkwood. Yet as is the norm with the Scotch business, just how high “higher than normal” is, let alone how much comes from Glenkinchie and Linkwood, remains undisclosed.Haig Dimple 15 Year Old is a common sight on European bar shelves, so much so that I would say it is the 15 year old blend I see the most of. So on the Continent, we know it for what is more or less its omnipresence; in America, it grabbed renewed attention for appearing on the Breaking Bad. In the USA, it is labeled as Dimple Pinch rather than Haig Dimple, but Dimple is Dimple and the stuff in the bottle is the same.
The Scotch:
While Dimple might be a middle-aged blend, it is still essentially a mass market product, and consequently is bottled at 40% abv. The packaging is certainly pretty, though: a hefty, rounded-but-triangular, dimpled clear glass bottle with golden netting, topped by a hefty cap.
One of the good things about that bottle is how it shows off Dimple’s color, a pleasant light amber, somewhere in the place where orange meets gold.
The key characteristic of Dimple is how light and understated it is. The nose is floral and toffee and caramel sweet, underscored by a dry woody note. The flavor has a medium-bodied, butterscotch and toffee character, with a light, but still spicy pepper note and a tinge of dry wood. The flavor unfolds off the pepper, leaving a restrained afterglow with light warmth.
The Price:
Dimple has a fairly solid international following, and it’s not hard to see why. One might look at the age statement and go “that must cost a pretty penny,” but it actually doesn’t. The numbers on Dimple seem to be around a consistent “35” wherever I see them, in dollars, pounds, or euros. For Americans, that means a nice blended scotch priced in the same range as the typical small batch bourbon, and for Europeans makes for a good deal.