Dewar’s Debuts World’s First Mezcal-Finished Scotch Whisky

Last month Dewar’s scotch announced the release of Ilegal Smooth. On its face, the $22 bottle seemed somewhat interesting—a blended whisky finished in barrels that formerly held mezcal. In actuality, it was nothing short of revolutionary. For years, this sort of flavor flexing was verboten, according to the stringent regulations of the category. But in 2019 the Scotch Whisky Association eased some of its restrictions, allowing such a product to exist. Ilegal Smooth is one of the first offerings to take advantage of a broader playing field in the realm of scotch production. Now it arrives on shelves, just in time for Cinco de Mayo. How does it taste? Here’s a preview.

Mezcal—with its often smokier undertones—is frequently characterized as the scotch of tequila. This isn’t entirely fair. For one, mezcal isn’t a tequila at all. It is its own beast, with an entirely separate denomination of origin. Judging all of the Mexican spirit to be smoky is as shortsighted as defining all scotch by the peaty expressions inherent to Islay.

So while you might expect the merging of the categories to be some sort of smoke monster, Ilegal Smooth is actually defined more by its sweetness along with an intimation of vegetal notes. At any rate, it’ll make for a fine salt-rimmed highball on the upcoming holiday.

“Our mezcal is not overpowering,” explains John Rexer, founder of Ilegal, the mezcal brand responsible for the collaboration. “The full flavor of the agave comes through as a result of how we roast and shave it after we pick it out of the oven. The absence of burnt agave or anything that’s overly smoked or caramelized allows the real agave flavor to come through, and when you marry that with a beautiful Scotch you get something that is extraordinary.”

For this project, Rexer says he emptied out an entire cave of casks, sending 400 barrels that formerly held Ilegal Mezcal Reposado and Anejo to the heart of the Scottish highlands. On the opposite end of the pond, Stephanie Macleod received them with a combination of excitement and curiosity. The master blender for Dewar’s had never used mezcal casks before. She had to nose every barrel individually before any of the scotch could even enter them, to make sure that nothing was compromised on the lengthy journey from Mexico.

“When you assess both spirits side by side, I find there are a lot of parallels and complimentary layers between the two,” she contends. “They’re both very smooth and have reacted well to the casks that they’ve been in initially. Finishing a whisky is all about complimentary flavors and creating harmony, and I truly believe that this is what we’ve got in this product.”

Finding that balance was a painstaking process. Once entered into the oak, she sampled product weekly to see how the liquid was evolving. The exact amount of time in barrel varies from batch to batch, but typically ranges between several weeks and a couple of months.

“This is an exciting time for the future of whisky and innovation,” adds Macleod. “The new amendment opens up the use of cross-barrel aging to infuse new flavor into the liquid, while also adhering to the celebrated tradition of the flavor and quality that Scotch is known for. One of the main criteria though is that you must still be able to tell it’s a Scotch whisky, so that’s why it is important to keep a close eye on it during the finishing period, to ensure the mezcal doesn’t dominate the whisky, and I’m glad to say that we have achieved the right balance.”

On the flip side, should you expect to see any scotch finished mezcals in the months ahead? “I think that’s a wonderful idea, to be discussed,” admits Rexer. In the meantime, you can now find Ilegal Smooth on shelves or through many of the preferred alcohol delivery services.