Scotch Releases: Ultra-Aged Whiskies From Dewar's, Deanston, Torbermory, and Ledaig

The latest round of rollouts in scotch whisky features some seriously old liquid, led by Dewar's, which goes up the aging ladder as part of its Double Double aged whisky series. Highlands single malt maker Deanston Distillery, which has one of the scotch world's more interesting pedigrees in sustainability, has just introduced a 2002 vintage cask-strength organic expression. It's also offering a non-organic 18 year old whisky that will become part of Deanston's core range. Until now, that range has included only its 12 year old and Virgin Oak expressions. Finally, Torbermory Distillery is a split-personality scotch maker with both a non-peated and a peated whisky brand—its Torbermory label is non-peated, while the Ledaig expression is peated. Now it's out with a Tobermory 21 year old and a Ledaig 18 year old, both of which also will become permanent expressions in their respective lineups.

Dewar’s Double Double 38 year old Blended Malt Scotch

ABV: 48.8%
SRP: $2,200/375 ml
Availability: Limited

For many years, extra-aged releases of Dewar’s blended scotch whisky were primarily confined to its 18 and 25 year old labels. That all changed in 2019 when Dewar’s launched a trio of ultra-aged expressions under the Double Double name—a 21 year old, 27 year old, and 32 year old. The 21 year old ranked No. 2 in our Top 20 Whiskies list of 2019, but then all went quiet until 2022, when Dewar’s released a 36 year old Double Double finished in Madeira casks.

In 2023 Dewar’s came out with a 37 year old, marking the start of its Collectors Series—a planned four-part series where each release takes a regional Scottish theme. The 37 year old, honored the whisky traditions of Speyside and was finished in oloroso sherry casks from Dewar’s-owned Speyside distiller Aultmore. Last week, Dewar’s announced the second release in the Collector’s Series—a 38 year old tribute to the Dewar's distilleries that lie at the northern edge of the Highlands. It's finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks from Royal Brackla, a Dewar’s-owned Highlands distillery.

Even though the 37 and 38 year old are dedicated to a specific scotch region, their blends include whiskies from across the Highlands as well as Islay, home of many famous peated whisky distilleries. Dewar’s owns five distilleries in total, all single malt makers: Aultmore and Craigellachie in Speyside; Royal Brackla and Macduff in the northern part of the Highlands; and Aberfeldy further south in Highland Perthshire. But like most blended scotch makers, Dewar's trades with other whisky houses to obtain grain whisky and other malts.

Interestingly, these recently released whiskies are all blended malts, made without the grain whisky that’s usually part of Dewar’s and other blended scotches. But like all other Double Double whiskies, these underwent master blender Stephanie Macleod’s four-step process, whereby the components of the blend are first aged separately, then blended together, then aged again in their original casks for an unspecified period, before being finished in another cask.

Throughout this journey with Double Double that began in 2019, the bottles have all been packaged in 375 ml. bottles. One thing that has changed, however, is the pricing. The Double Double releases in 2019 carried SRPs of $50 for the 21 year old, $100 for the 27 year old, and $150 for the 32 year old. Last year’s 37 year old was priced at $1,800, and the newly released 38 year old is at $2,200.

Deanston 2002 Vintage Organic American Oak Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 49.7%
SRP: $299
Availability: Limited, at select retailers and reservebar.com

Deanston Distillery has announced the U.S. release of its 2002 Vintage Organic American Oak Cask Strength single malt. The non-chill filtered expression was aged in organic-certified re-charred American oak casks, designed to deliver a higher level of extractives during maturation and add more depth and complexity.

This 2002 vintage release totaled 2,826 bottles worldwide, with only 600 bottles available in the U.S. It launched in other markets earlier this year. Organic whisky has a small annual production window at Deanston, coming right after the distillery’s summer silent season, which explains why quantities of its organic whiskies are always small.

Deanston has long prided itself on its sustainable practices, having earned organic certification from the UK’s Organic Food Federation back in 2000. It also harnesses its electric power from the River Teith, which flows right by its door using a hydroelectric generator. Deanston’s organic whiskies are made from 100% organic Scottish barley, sourced from sustainable farmers, and processed at an organic facility. You can read about Deanston’s organic whisky practices here.

Deanston 18 year old Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 46.3%
SRP: $154
Availability: Limited, at select retailers and reservebar.com

Deanston also announced the U.S. launch of an 18 year old whisky as part of its core range. This one was fully matured in bourbon barrels and is available in limited quantities at select U.S. retailers nationally and on reservebar.com. In addition to this new 18 year old, Deanston’s core range includes its 12 year old and Virgin Oak expression, the latter being aged in bourbon barrels and finished for 9-12 months in virgin oak.

Deanston is located in the town of Doune, the site of Doune Castle, which has been used as a setting for films and television shows including “Monty Python” and “Game of Thrones.” Its whiskies generally score well with our tasting panel, particularly the more recent releases, and it’s long been considered one of the more underrated hidden gems of single malt scotch.

Torbermory and Ledaig

Tobermory Distillery on the Isle of Mull makes the unpeated Tobermory label, which it distills during the first half of the year. But it also has a peated expression, Ledaig, which it produces in the second half of the year. This week, both of those labels are out with new releases.

Torbermory 21 year old

ABV: 46.3%
SRP: $281
Availability: Limited, at select retailers and reservebar.com

This new 21 year old expression hitting the U.S. will now become part of Torbermory's permanent range. It was distilled and aged in bourbon barrels in 1999, before being transferred into oloroso sherry casks in 2015.

Ledaig 18 year old Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 46.3%
SRP: $177
Availability: Nationwide but limited at retailers; for presale this month on reservebar.com

Ledaig 18 year old was aged 16 years in bourbon casks and finished for 2 years in sherry casks. It’s heavily peated at 30-40 phenol parts per million (ppm), comparable to Laphroaig (40 ppm) or Bowmore (30 ppm). Like the Torbermory 21, this one will join the core Ledaig range.