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Dewar's
Master Blender, Stephanie Macleod,
becomes the first woman to win the
Whisky of the Year Award at the
International Whisky Competition.
Quite surprisingly given the number
of skilful female Master Blenders in the
Scotch whisky industry today who are
creating some outstanding whiskies it is
only now for the first time in the
history of the 'International Whisky
Competition' that a woman has ever
blended a Whisky of the Year. That woman
is Stephanie Macleod, Master Blender for
John Dewar and Sons, and the Whisky of
the Year which Stephanie has created is
the John Dewar and Sons Double Double 32
Year Old Blended Scotch, I haven't had
the pleasure of it myself but I do
recall the stunning Dewar's 25 Year Old
expression which replaced the Dewar's
Signature which Stephanie created back
in 2017 and given this latest accolade I
would be confident she has produced yet
another stunning, mature, Dewar's
blended whisky.
The International Whisky Competition has
just released its results for this
year's most respected blind tasting
judging event. The top recognition,
Whisky of the Year, was awarded to John
Dewar and Sons Double Double 32 Year
Old (Blended Scotch), which scored 96.4
points, the highest-scoring whisky of
the competition.
The 11th edition of the International
Whisky Competition took place in Estes
Park, CO, over four days, from June 10th
to 14th, and received whisky submissions
from all over the world. A world-class
tasting panel made of whisky, spirit,
beer, and wine experts blind tasted each
whisky on an individual basis (8 minutes
per whisky).
Each whisky was scored using a
comprehensive 100-point scale system
developed by Sebastien Gavillet, IWC
Head of Tasting Panel. This process and
the fact that only three medals are
awarded in any category make the
International Whisky Competition the
most followed whisky competition and one
of the most professional competitions of
its kind in the world.
The International Whisky Competition
warmly congratulated Stephanie Macleod,
as well as her team, for crafting what
they described as such a
complex, unctuous, and perfectly
balanced whisky. John Dewar and Sons
will receive the Golden Barrel Trophy
for winning Whisky of the Year during a
ceremony to be held this Autumn in
Aberfeldy, Scotland.
The International Whisky Competition is
the most followed Whisky Competition on
Social Media. It brings whiskies from
around the world to be blind tasted and
rated by a professional tasting panel
using the most comprehensive tasting
method available. Fifteen criteria are
required to produce the tasting notes as
well as aroma and flavour profiles for
the International Whisky Guide. Unlike
other competitions, the judges are
presented with one whisky at a time to
ensure each whisky gets the proper
attention. It's the only competition in
the spirits world to deliver unique
medals designed to promote each of the
winning whiskies. Only three medals
(Gold, Silver & Bronze) are awarded per
category. The Whisky of the Year
(highest score during the competition)
gets rewarded with the Golden Barrel
Trophy.
Dewar's blended whisky's main
marketplace in the world is undoubtedly
the US and although it is amongst the
best selling Scotch whiskies in the
world it is often overlooked even in
Scotland and the UK but if
you are looking for a quality blended
whisky I would recommend checking out
Dewar's 12, 18 and 25 year old which are
all outstanding blends, all of which and
more you will find available from specialist online whisky
retailers such as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop and
Master of
Malt
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