Castle & Cairn

Created in 1899 by A.J. Cameron, Dewar's White Label is a staple of cocktails the world over. The brand was popularized in the US when Andrew Carnegie sent a small keg of  Dewar's Scotch to the White House for President James Garfield's inauguration, later congratulating President Benjamin Harrison in the same manner. John Dewar & Sons, now owned by Bacardi, is known for their double aging process by which component whiskies are aged, blended, and then returned to oak casks to "marry". White Label is the top-selling Dewar's iteration and joins a lineup of 12, 15,18,19 and super aged releases. There are also finished variations such as the Caribbean Smooth Rum  cask edition, but the main claim to fame is that " it never varies ." Dewar's is such a master of blending, that they are able to reliably create the exact same flavor profile year over year, batch to batch, for more than a century. The younger Dewar's expressions, including White ...

  Choosing your first bottle of whiskey can be exciting, but with so many options, it can also be a bit overwhelming. Some recommend trying a variety of whiskies at bars, ideally ones that serve flights, before settling on that first bottle. Based on seeing friends try to jump right in to neat whiskey, I'm not sure that's the best advice. Many people thinking about getting into whiskey may not have a lot of experience drinking straight liquor and may have even less experience trying to TASTE liquor (shots, shots, shots everybody). At first, most people just taste alcohol, and while we love that chemical, a generic burning sensation and booze forward flavors don't present the most compelling argument, hence the common practice of "chasing" drinks with a palette cleanser or supplementing the liquor with sugar and mixers in cocktails. If you are used to tasting tequila, rum, or another spirit already, by all means jump straight into flights or curated tastings, but f...

I am a massive fan of The Balvenie's 14 Yr Caribbean Cask Single Malt but it does set you back $89.99, a fine price for Scotch but well outside my everyday bourbon budget. At the other end of the spectrum, Dewar's White Label ( our review here ) might be at the spot of being the cheapest and most drinkable scotch out there, so I was understandably intrigued when they released a Caribbean rum barrel finished version with an 8-year age statement.. If we know anything in this world, it's that you seldom get something for nothing, so I am forced to ask: is it any good? 📚 Background : First Released in 2019, this bottle sees a base blend of whiskies aged at least eight years put to bed in the aforementioned rum casks for four to six months. If it works as intended, this second aging should add additional sweetness, potentially some fruity notes, or maybe even spiciness depending on the char level and rum aged in the barrel. I would note that the 500+ gold metals claimed on the ...