Dewar‘s Double Double 21 Year Old; New Aberfeldy Experience; Whisky Cask Investment Fraud; World‘s Best Cooper at Tomatin

Hello everyone,

Just this last week, I received a media release about a new Dewar‘s: Dewar’s Double Double 21 Year Old Magma Stone Toasted French Oak Level 3 expression showcasing a very different cask finishing technique. This expression is finished in virgin French oak casks that have never been previously filled and stone toasted using Icelandic magma rock. Well, surely that would pique any whisky lover‘s curiosity.

We‘re told, „The technique harnesses controlled, radiant heat from pre-heated Icelandic magma stones, allowing for more precise, even toasting that gently enhances the whisky’s fruit-forward character. Unlike traditional fire toasting, which relies on open flames, this method ensures uniform heat distribution across barrels, eliminating flare-ups that can cause inconsistent toast levels from cask to cask. To achieve this feat, the process employs electricity to heat the Icelandic magma stones, reducing reliance on combustion-based methods and lowering carbon emissions in barrel production, and the stones are placed in a metal cylinder within the cask, gradually emitting heat to gently open the oak’s pores.“ Fascinating and I‘d love to see this one in action, having been at a few cooperages and observed the traditional flame methods.

Now, I have no Dewar‘s of the same or similar age to compare this expression with whisky from more traditional cask pore-opening methods but what does it taste like?

Appearance: Glowing, rich old gold with buttery yellow/aged white burgundy highlights. Tears very slow to form, sticky and widely spaced.

Nose: Fruity- vine fruits, pears and baked apples; warm butter; a touch of wax; barley sugar sweetness; slightly spicy and soft oak. With water, a bit more spice and oak vanilla; toffee/caramel; Dolly Mixtures (soft candy)/ powdered sugar. Mellow and beautifully rounded. Really enticing – one of those you want to sit and inhale for a while.

Palate: Medium mouth feel – slightly viscous and creamy. A touch of pepperiness, even with a little more water; oak tannins and sweet spices; baked fruits and a slightly sherbety tingle.

Finish: Quite long with spices, oak and dry herbs. Some light floral notes.

Dewar’s Double Double 21 Year Old Magma Stone Toasted French Oak Level 3 is not chill-filtered and contains no added caramel colouring. It‘s bottled at 46% abv, available in 750ml format, with a suggested retail price of $139.99. So, by that price indication you may rightly conclude that this Dewar‘s 21 Y.O. French Oak Level 3 is available in the US only. No indication of expansion to other markets in the info received. The Double Double 21 Y.O. magma stone toasted casks have all recently launched with the 21 Y.O American Oak Level 1 and French Oak Level 1 in global travel retail last year. It‘s always interesting to read of new ways the industry has of giving its consumers something different to consider and I really enjoyed trying this one. I‘ll compare it soon with the French Oak Level 1 toasting version. Let’s just say that Master Blender Stephanie MacLeod (recently appointed Director of Blending) hasn’t won multiple awards for no good reason. This blend expression is a cracker.

While we‘re on the subject of Dewar‘s and Aberfeldy, a distillery in a lovely Perthshire location near the town of the same name in the Scottish Highlands there‘s new activity there too. It‘s a red squirrel area for those of you with an eye to nature and I‘ve seen a number of them up there. Anyway, I digress. Aberfeldy has introduced a new experience at the distillery – The Whisky Explorer. This more-indepth look at Aberfeldy‘s history, craft and innovation includes a „premium tasting of rare and aged expressions“ which can include Aberfeldy 15 Year Old Tuscan Wine Cask Finish, Aberfeldy 26 Year Old Exceptional Cask, Dewar’s Double Double 32 Year Old, and Aultmore 25 Year Old Spirit of Speyside Limited Edition. This visit offer starts from 1st April (and since the e-mail came out today, it isn‘t a sophisticated April Fool). Cost is £60 and for those whiskies, I‘d have to say this is great value. Maybe give it a try next time you‘re up there or, indeed, make a special trip.

If you follow industry news you will already know that some whisky cask sales operations have been considered as potentially less than honest, certainly by me and by a couple of notable writers. Not so long ago a couple of them were rapped over the knuckles for some of the claims in their ads and I‘ve written before of how certainly one that I‘ve checked out doesn‘t seem to want to say who their whisky „experts“ are nor how they came to be so and nor who says they are. Well, a BBC investigation, Disclosure: Hunting the Whisky Bandits and aired recently, has highlighted the case of a number of people, not in the wealthy bracket, who thought they would provide more for their families or retirement this way and lost all their savings. This has received quite a bit of media coverage elsewhere. The journalist, Samantha Poling (pictured here), discovered fraud on a large scale and the companies named were Whisky Scotland, Cask Whisky Ltd. and Cask Spirits Global. The last two certainly turned out to be fronted by a convicted fraudster who is also disqualified from being a company director. The money these poor souls invested has disappeared, the casks don‘t exist and people were being overcharged up to 10 times the actual value of these casks. They were preying on people, basically. Now, there are one or two legitimate whisky cask investment companies out there but the whole thing is unregulated and needs to be dealt with. If you want to see the BBC Scotland programme and have access to BBC iPlayer then find it there at https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0029dz2/disclosure-hunting-the-whisky-bandits or you can read a little more on https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2025/03/trade-reaction-bbc-shines-light-on-whisky-cask-scams/ . Caveat emptor!

In other recent but much happier news, Allan Bartlett, cooper at Highland distiller Tomatin, has been named ‘Cooper of the Year’ at the 2025 Icons of Whisky Awards. Allan has been coopering at Tomatin Distillery for 21 years, and previously won ‘Cooper of the Year for Scotland’ in the 2025 Icons of Whisky regional awards, before progressing to take the global title. We are told, „As part of his role as Tomatin Distillery’s cooper, Allan is responsible for inspecting each and every cask before it is filled and making repairs when required. In his time at Tomatin Distillery, Allan has worked on more than 37,000 carefully selected casks. Tomatin is one of just four distilleries in Scotland to have an on-site cooperage. By bringing barrel repairs in-house, Tomatin can closely guard its reputation for quality and work with a wider range of suppliers than most other distilleries“. On receiving his award Allan Bartlett said, “To be internationally recognised by the Icons of Whisky Awards as a leading figure in the industry is a real privilege, and I’m thrilled to take this award home to Tomatin Distillery. I wouldn’t be here without Iain Duthie, who taught me the tricks of the trade.“Iain was a previous cooper who served 39 years there. It‘s good to see the wonderful crafts behind our whisky being recognised in this way.

That‘s it from me for this month. I‘ll see you again in April with more. Till then, happy dramming and welcome to spring or autumn dependent on which hemisphere you‘re in.

Slainte mhath,

Caroline