Dewar's Portuguese Smooth

Another interesting pour from Dewar's. After my experience with Ilegal (good for the price and an easy, undemanding sipper) I wanted to explore a bit more of the series. As I understand it the Japanese Smooth might have the least positive reputation of the group, Ilegal the best and this is in between. We shall see... Tasted neat and on a single large ice sphere. The color is a reddish copper as befitting the Port finish. The nose is classic Dewars with a bit too much grain alcohol, a whiff of peat smoke, a fair dollop of malt and a bit of fruit from the wine. This is a better casual sipper on ice than it presents as a neat pour. I'm not dinging it too much as I don't expect a $25 bottle of scotch to be a complex quaff. On ice that ethanol, grain alcohol note is diminished and the sweetness allowed to take the stage. I think maybe that's where this goes wrong. The finish makes this tastes cheap. It's okay, but not impressive in any way. There's the Dewar's functional whisky profile (disclaimer - I like Dewar's for what it is and I've been drinking White Label since about '84). White Label is certainly nothing special, but its attraction lies in the fact that its mistakes and misses are generally of omission and not of commission. There's nothing inherently good about it, but there's also nothing horrible or corrupting. That's the regular Dewar's. (12yr Ancestor is another thing, and much better) This expression has, on top of the Dewar's blended scotch profile, a tacked on sweetness from the finish. To my taste buds this doesn't work as well as the Ilegal. That lovely mezcal finish of the Ilegal went a long way to buying my happiness. But this... This bottle has nothing about it to recommend; it's just pedestrian and without a real saving grace. The port finish here tastes a lot like a Taylor jug and that's a shame. The finish actually detracts from the core Dewar's profile. It's more or less port-flavored box wine and, while adding fruit and sweetness, isn't well integrated. I think Dewar should have opted for a better finishing selection. I rate on a simple scale. 1 is just bad - I try to avoid drinking anything I think might be at this level as life as just too short to mess around with crap. 2 to 3 is average and a bell curve will predict most liquor will end up in this range. That's not a bad thing. 3 to 4 is very good, and 4+ is simply superb. Portuguese Smooth isn't a liquor that's heading to the top of my scale. I'll finish the bottle and enjoy it, but I won't get another. This is mediocre. Go for the Ilegal Smooth, it's a good guilty pleasure. This expression is just guilty.

Nose: Malt, apple skins, citrus and stone-fruits. The port cask finish is very subtle merely adding a gloss of fortified wine to the basic Dewar’s distillate. That is, however, a pleasant thing and it rounds off the corners of what can otherwise be a fairly ordinary (but competently "average") blended scotch nose. If you compare this to Dewar’s White Label then this is definitely the more interesting scotch. Palate: A larger arrival than either of the other two “Dewar’s Smooth” expressions I’ve tasted recently, but also not as sweet or engaging. It’s surprisingly more like an oloroso sherry finish than port, and there is a good dose of tannin present which gives it a spiky, dry quality (I wonder if they were European oak casks? Surely not!). The texture is OK but overshadowed by the tannic dryness, which makes it seem thin. The palate is not as good as the nose. Finish: Medium: Peppery, sharp spices, overbrewed tea and old walnut skins. The finish is a step down again from the early palate. This is the last of the Dewar’s Smooth finish expressions I bought recently, and it’s not my favourite. It starts reasonably well but the taste and finish do not do justice to the nose. If it was softer and had better balance and a little more fruit on the palate I’d rate it more highly. Adding a dash of water knocks the tannins down a good deal and generally improves the palate and mouth-feel, but the nose loses presence. It takes water surprisingly well for a 40%abv blended scotch – I guess all that oak spice has to be good for something. I thought this seemed like it will be best as a mixer, and in the presence of something sweet like Coke or dry ginger ale it’s probably going to be more than acceptable. I’m rating it one point higher than Dewar’s White Label, which makes my ranking order for these three expressions and the Dewar’s scotches I’ve previously rated here as follows: 82/100 (3.25) - 15 Year Old “The Monarch” 81/100 (3) – 12 Year Old “The Ancestor” 81/100 (3) - Ilegal Smooth mescal cask 80/100 (3) - Japanese Smooth mizunara cask 79/100 (2.75) - Portuguese Smooth port cask 78/100 (2.75) – Dewar’s White Label “Average” : 79/100 (2.75 stars)

Bottle states 8yr old, dewars double aged, port wine cask finished. Their tasting notes claim "apricot, honeydew melon, red cherries, heathered honey with vanilla notes" Apricot, honey, and port influence I'll give them, the rest is definitely a stretch Nose is weak. Palate has assertive port cask tones but they arent brash. Strawberry jam, raspberry ice cream, plain dry grain. Absence of floral usually associated with this territory. Silky dewars honey holds the backbone together STURDY like the frame of a 1980 Fleetwood caddy. Im a big dewars fan and I've skipped all the 'illegal smooth' line stuff till this one. The mezcal got bad reviews, and I can pretty much guess with certainty glenlivet caribbean would trounce dewars rum finish... I think this could be a good change of pace!! This is cheap scotch but it's actually a decent representation of a fancier scotch style. No heat, no off-notes, just a complete lack of any fancier depth/body/complexity/class. I'm going to very much enjoy playing with it, it's basically strawberry jam on toast. If you've read this far I'll give you a nice tip: I just read today the next one is "Japanese smooth" with a MIZUNARA(!!!) finish. Yowzer!!! If it's similar VFM as this it could be a crazy bargain. Chivas mizu is too damn expensive @50+ now. Bump it to 4/5 if you get it under $25 and enjoy a well-thrown curveball, or for how respectably the port is handled for the price point.

Looking for a smooth, port-finished whisky at a very reasonable price? You might want to grab a bottle of Dewars Portuguese Smooth. It’s the third release in Dewar's "Smooth" series that previously had the Caribbean Smooth Rum Cask Finish and the Ilegal Smooth Mezcal Cask Finish. It’s an 8 year old Dewars that’s finished in ruby port casks. Think bargain-priced Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban. Pinkish color. Sweet and fruity on the nose. The palate is also quite sweet with strawberries, some honey and cereal notes. It doesn’t hang around too much on the finish and is a little bit tart with a hint of toasted nuts. A dash of water takes away the slight tart note and adds a hint of sweet chocolate (Turkish delight.?) I wouldn’t recommend this to the peat-heads, but if you are a fan of Dewars, or if you tend to like Sherry/port finished scotches, it definitely hits the spot as an affordable daily-sipper. Added note: it’s not as good as the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, but it’s a third of the price!

Nose of malt and fruit. On the tongue it is quite thin and offers up the the malt flavor and ripe fruit of the port ----and....the heat of a high percentage of grain whisky. At least that is my take on this. I think this has less malt than the white label. This is cheap enough to be acceptable as a fruit finish Scotch that is to be drunk without reflection, is certainly perceived to be "smoother" on the second dram, and is really quite tasty in a simple highball. This IS NOT what you drink with a cigar and a discussion of the state of the universe.

8 yr blend in port cask finish for 21$ why not. Okay the grain presence is still there and its not complex blah blah blah. This is a nice fruity blend with just a twang of peat. Good and tasty enough to consume neat but cheap enough to mix without a thought. This is better than standard Dewars but alas the 12 yr takes it for only a few$ more in my area. I think that gulf is greater elsewhere though adding to the value. At $20-25 you really cant go wrong so give it a try if you like wine finished scotch........76/100