Dewar's

When you are sailing the seas, exploring the world and, maybe taking in the wonderful history and culture that surrounds us all it is easy to miss that some of these wonders are just the other side of the bar from us.

My name is James Martin and I like whisky.  In fact I like whisky so much that I spent nearly two years hosting and producing ‘The Malted Muse Podcast’.  This was a weekly podcast that explored the world of whisky - how it is made, who makes it, the current news and its long history.  For me whisky is not just a drink - it is much more.  When I raise a glass of whisky I feel a connection to all the skill and artistry that goes into it, but I also feel connected to much more than that, I feel connected to its history, its customs, the key figures who played a part in its development and the poor, cold and hungry farmers who made it illegally and kept them going through long hard winters.  There is a connection with troubled times and rebellion as well as joyous times and celebration.

Each whisky has an identity and a story to tell - if you are willing to listen.

When I am on a Celebrity ship there is a whisky that is on the list of my Elite+ Captain’s Club Cocktail perks list.  It is a whisky that is available in many places and because of that may be ignored by people wanting something with a bigger price tag.  This whisky is Dewars White Label and it is a whisky with a long and interesting past.  This is a whisky that was key in the development of both whisky and the whisky industry.  It is also a whisky with an interesting flavour profile which deserves being aware of.

Let’s start at the beginning, by going back in time to1806 when John Dewar was born.  His parents lived in a small crofters cottage on a small farm in Scotland.  They were not rich people in any way and would have had a careful in frugal life.  As John grew he attended the local school which he would walk to and back from everyday - a total journey of 8 miles - and in the winter he would have carried peat with him for the school fire.  His elder brother had set up a small joinery in his home town of Aberfeldy and when John was old enough he did an apprenticeship in joinery then joined his brothers business.  However, after 2 years of this he made a big change - a distant cousin was a wine merchant in nearby Perth and John went to work with him.  This moment was the spark that was to ignite the fire.  This was the moment that made the change that took a poor crofter’s son and made that son the father of 2 Lords.  This was a time when the whisky industry was very different.  Illegal distilling was still common, legal distilleries were at risk of becoming the target of the illegal distillers, with some being burned to the ground.  The Whisky itself would have been harsher and less uniform, some may have been adulterated and the idea of buying it in branded bottles was just being thought about. John was ready to make the most of the opportunities that were available.

John had 2 sons, John Alexander and Thomas Robert (Tommy).  They were both trained in the whisky trade and had good educations. It was these 2 brothers that were to take the company to the next level.  The business had gained a reputation in its home area but now was the time to expand - this is where Tommy excelled. Despite arriving in London, only to find his only 2 contacts had either gone bankrupt or died. Despite this he struggled on.  He entered The Brewer’s Show Bringing with him a bagpiper. The result was a lot of angry people - but also a lot of much needed publicity.  Tommy became known for his large advert on the side of ‘The Shot Tower’, a large and very noticeable building.  Lit by electric bulbs the moving figure of an enormous Highlander, pouring and drinking a glass of Dewars White Label was displayed.  It was to become a famous London landmark.

Tommy was not content with London - he had his eyes on the WORLD. His travelling was epic, in 1904 he even had his memoirs of his world tour in the 1890’s published with the name ‘A Ramble Round The Globe’.  Tommy actually did 2 world tours, had many adventures and managed to promote Dewars whisky on an international stage.  In fact he was so successful that even while travelling through a part of Canada that was suffering prohibition he had a notable event.  Although not a big drinker himself he would ask for it to raise demand. On this occasion he was told that he could not be sold whisky due to the prohibition. The man then made the suggestion that Tommy wasn’t looking very well and should try some of the cholera mixture. In holding the bottle he saw the label saying cholera mixture on one side and another label on the other - a label of a whisky that was well known to him but his modesty prevented him from naming it.  

It was Tommy who introduced the first Highball to America and whose whisky was popular with 2 American Presidents.  But as he travelled the world, and as his brother was holding the fort and developing the business at home, who was making the whisky?  In 1898 Dewars built its own distillery near their parents old crofter’s cottage.  This is still in operation - Aberfeldy - and it’s 12 year old single malt presentation can often be found behind some of the bars.  But single malts are not so easy to make.  They are done in batch production which limits how much can be made. They can have strong characters that are not to everyones taste and they are expensive. However, the introduction of ‘The Coffey Still’ meant that a quick, continuous process of distilling grain whisky changed everything.  By mixing grain whiskies and malt whiskies, with great skill, it was possible to produce a whisky that could be targeted to the flavour profile most desired.  Blends often get looked down upon but that is a shame, they can be very high quality and are the result of incredibly capable, intelligent and skilful people.  Dewars did not invent blending - but they did employ Alexander John Cameron.  A lot of whisky being made at that time was getting blended in a haphazard and, sometimes, distasteful way.  A.J.Cameron, however, was a different breed. Dewars employed him as Master Blender 1890 and he set to some pioneering work.  He realised that individual whiskies had their own little quirks, bonuses and shortcomings.  He experimented, nosed and tasted then experimented even more.  He realised that some specific whiskies mixed better with other specific whiskies whilst some were disastrous. However - what he also did was a landmark in whiskies history. Whisky is made then aged in oak casks.  Mix these different whiskies together and you have a blend. A.J.Cameron realised that this process could be improved on by an act of double maturation - in short he had worked out which were the best whiskies to blend together then, having got them all together (and left them for a while to ‘marry’ ) rather than putting it into bottles he put them back into casks for a second maturation.  The result was a far superior and balanced whisky that had the extra care of A.J.Cameron shining through it.

White Label has become a term for a product that is purchased from one company then re-label and sold as a different company - This is NOT the case here.  Dewars White label was so called because they simply stuck to the colour they had first used, and because a white label at the time was seen as being a sign of a premium product.

It is a product that was being shipped across Lake Huron, Canada on the S.S.Regina in 1913.  This was the year of ‘The Great Storm’ that damaged many ships and sank 8 - 1 of which was the Regina.  In 1986 The ship was eventually found and the whisky in it was still good - although well chilled. It is worth mentioning, however, that this was not the only whisky to endure such a fate. Also on the Regina was some Whyte and MacKay whisky.  Whyte and MacKay whisky has also been found in one of Shackleton’s unused store points left from his 1907 attempt for the South Pole.  Nearer to Dewars home, Edradour distillery is just 13 miles from Aberfeldy Distillery and Edradour whisky suffered a similar fate. In February 1941 the S.S. Politician ran aground off the coast of Eriskay.  Her cargo included £3 million in Jamaican bank notes and a large amount of whisky - including Edradour.  Locals relieved the ship of much of its contents and inspired Compton Mackenzie’s ‘Whisky Galore’.

Tommy and his brother both became Lords, They are also identified by whisky magazine as being two of the top 100 influential people in whisky - as is A.J.Cameron. Just a 108 years later Dewars  employed appointed Stephanie McCleod who  became their first female Master Blender in 2006 - and has won the award of Master Blender of the year for, I believe, 6 years in a row. And Tommy’s legacy is not just in the whisky, his wit and wisdom also left us with some words worth listening to such as - ‘The only thing you get in a hurry is trouble’.

So as you travel and you look at the drinks menu or the bottles on display why not choose a Dewars White Label and give it a try.  Take a look at it as you hold it in your hand and remember it’s long history, think about the people behind it, the amount of craft, skill, science and time that went into it.  Remember that this company, this whisky, helped change the whisky industry and has been going strong for over 125 years.  As you smell it, taste it, enjoy it do so in the knowledge that the whisky you have is the result of over 40 individual whiskies that have been carefully matched together, mixed in a specific combination and then matured for a second time in chosen oak casks - all by a leader in the field.