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Behind the Brand

Stephanie Macleod, Master Blender at Dewar's

Lee Diaz, ReserveBar Staff Writer
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Ahead of Women in Spirits Week, we sat down (virtually) with Stephanie Macleod, the Master Blender at Dewar’s. Stephanie joined John Dewar’s and Son’s in 1998, becoming Blender Designate in 2003, and has most recently become only the seventh Master Blender in the company’s almost 175 year history. Assuming the role of Master Blender, Stephanie endures to preserve the famed legacy of the World’s Most Awarded Blended Scotch Whisky.

Stephanie opened up about the details of her work, how she started at Dewar’s and some of her favorite ways to experience this storied scotch whisky.

How did your work with Dewar’s begin?

I started off doing food science at University, and in the department I was in, they were very interested in flavor and in the flavor of scotch whisky. And when I graduated, I started working for a soft drinks company, and I was there for about 9-months. Then my old supervisor from University phoned me up and said, “how would you like to come and study whisky with us?” To be honest at that point, I had no notion of whisky, I didn’t really like it, and I did not think it was relevant to me. But once I started working with it, I realized that it’s three ingredients using roughly the same process you use to make the whisky, and yet two distilleries sitting side by side can make entirely different flavor profiles. And when you throw in the casks, the things that the casks can do to the flavor of the whisky, I just fell in love and I knew that this was the industry I wanted to be in and a career I wanted to pursue.

At the time, I really had no notion of wanting to become a Master Blender; I just wanted to be part of the production of scotch whisky. Then a role came up at Dewar’s. The company had shifted from one distillery to five, so it was a really exciting time to be here. So, I joined as a quality person, but they always kept in mind that I had this sensory background and expertise, so eventually they put me in charge of the lab. And one day in 2003, my boss said to me that the current Master Blender was about to retire - would I want to train up to take his place.

What work marked your start at Dewar’s?

When I started properly as a Master Blender in 2006, my first project was Dewar’s 15YO; we were really making it for China and Taiwan. I made up three pilot blends and we allowed them to choose the one that they wanted, and we had never really done that before. And I was really drawing on my sensory background to set up these blind tastings with the brand teams to really hone down to these three particular different blends, which the people from the markets would choose their favorite. So, that was great fun, and it was a very quick project. After that, we started rolling out all of our single malts with a number of progressions for each one. Then we had the Dewar’s scratched cask where we used virgin oak and bourbon oak and dry, and that was great fun.

This was followed by the double double series where we employed the four step process in order to make it as integrated and smooth as we possibly could. We can’t make enough of it, to be honest. And now we are challenged with keeping up with demand, which is a wonderful problem to have.

It’s an exciting time because we have broadened the number of casks we can use to experiment with whisky. My team has expanded and we have a lot of casks that are experimental that are sitting in the warehouse. We’re sampling them on a monthly basis, gathering the data and finding out what’s the sweet spot - when do we reach the peak - because you don’t want it to flip over and take on too much of the character of the cask. That’s why sampling is so important.

How has the industry changed since that time?

It wasn’t really that long ago, yet things have changed a huge amount in that time. It wasn’t that there were no female master blenders at the time, but there were very few of us. And we weren’t really talked about to be honest. Now there is a definite spotlight on woman distillers and woman master blenders, and woman whisky makers and mixologists. It was just a different time, and I am so thankful that it has changed. And still, I do get people saying “do you like whisky?”

I have also been impressed by the increasing focus on the importance of diversity. When I was to be asked to be Master Blender in 2003, I was shocked because there were so few high profile women in the industry. It’s a different story now, there’s lots of women now coming into the whisky industry that might not have thought of coming into the industry. And it’s not just about women, it’s also the inclusion of ethnic minorities as well. And being in Scotland, we don’t always attract a diverse workforce. But we are focused on that, because scotch is a global product and we do need to reflect that in the people that make the whisky. It’s such a joy to see the energy the younger generation matched with experience to build a legacy and ensure that your knowledge is passed onto the next generation coming through. You can’t just keep it to yourself - that’s just not what whisky is about.

Have you ever had a mentor that you looked up to?

I have been lucky; I have had a number of people throughout my career. The first person was John Piggott, who brought me into his research group, and he was really the one who opened my eyes to scotch whisky. And it was really because of him that I am doing what I am doing. I may have otherwise found my way into the whisky industry, but I don’t know that for sure.

The scotch whisky industry, I think is quite unique, because we are a very small country, but we have this huge global product that we produce in the country, off the land, and generations of people work in the industry, family members sometimes working side by side.. As an industry, we all rely on each other, because we use each other’s whiskies in our blends, we call it reciprocating. So we swap whisky with other companies and because of that we all talk to each other because we need to be making the best whisky that we can and because we all need each other.

There have been so many people that have given me a break; that have encouraged me when I have had doubts, and I hope that I have given that back through the people that have been in my team by encouraging them to educate themselves, get more experience, and explore, and to get as well-rounded an experience as possible. It’s where you get a more rounded appreciation for the industry you’re in.

What would someone that is new to Dewar’s know or might be easily overlooked?

Actually, this is a really special year for Dewar’s because this is the 175th year of the company being founded. It was on the 15th of May. It’s a really proud year for us and the company has achieved so much in that time. And it actually grew very quickly in the first 50 years; they built their first distillery, Aberfeldy in the late 1800s. That was the only distillery to be built by the Dewar’s family and it’s at the heart of the Dewar’s brand. A lot of distillery tours focus on the single malts, which we do too, but It is here that we celebrate the art of blending that is really quite unusual.

The whiskey that launched our company is the white label, and it is the whisky we start with today, and over the years obviously we have built on that. Dewar’s 12, 15 and 18, and the Double Double Range, the 21, 27 and 32.. And we have recently launched the Smooth Series. The whole concept was something that we’re passionate about smoothness and age statements. So, what we wanted to do was celebrate smoothness through exploring different flavors and extending onto that, different cultures.

The first one was Carribean Smooth with rum casks, which we pull mostly from Bacardi in Puerto Rico. And then Ilegal. Mezcal was something that we had been wanting to work with for a while, but the whisky laws did not allow us to use mezcal casks. But in the summer of 2019, they then broadened the list of casks we were able to use -- it was then that we pressed the button and brought in the casks. Ilegal was really the only mezcal that I have worked with that gave a brightness to the whisky. This series is based on finishes - the purpose of a finish is to compliment the whisky, not dominate it. Portugese smooth is the newest release in the series. It’s important that we consistently deliver something that is fresh and connects to customers.

Are there any other rules that you are dying to break?

The ability to use different wood types would be lovely. At the moment, we are restricted to oak, and there’s a good reason for that. But it would be nice to try out different types of wood that we could sell as a scotch whisky. And one of the caveats actually of broadening the rules was that it still had to retain the flavor and look of scotch whisky, so no one can produce green whisky, for instance. So, you can’t have anything that’s too wild, and sometimes a different type of wood could give you a completely different profile. But we do enjoy exploring different types of wood and spirits. As a blender, that’s what you want to do - you want to create new things. Especially, in this year, our 175th anniversary, you do want to push the boundaries a little bit.

What routines are core to your work?

I always need to understand why we’re doing it. It’s important for me to feel that it’s authentic because when you believe in a project then you are able to put all of yourself into it. And then you are able to talk about it properly and not feel as if you’re in any way holding anything back.

We often have a lot of discussions so I can understand why we are doing it; is it a good idea? What is this going to bring to whisky drinkers? And we also have to look at how sustainable it is - do we have enough stocks? Is it in the right casks? To have it at the right time? All of these things are considerations when we are producing a new product.

Where should someone that is new to Dewar’s start?

White Label is the one to start with. If someone was already familiar with whiskies, I would encourage them into the 12YO or 15YO because they are both very approachable but they are interesting as well. It’s not something that’s going to be too difficult to try if it’s new to you but interesting as well. In our malts range, it’s always going to be Aberfeldy that I recommend people to go for. I always imagine that our first Master Blender used Aberfeldy to inspire White Label. They both have these lovely citrus notes with a little bit of smoke coming in at the end.

How do you feel about food pairings?

For years, people have been pairing food with wine. Obviously whisky has a higher strength than wine so you have to be mindful of that. So you have this compromise of pairing food with a cocktail so that it’s easier to have with a number of courses. A traditional one is a steak with Dewar’s 12. Dewar’s 25 with its toffee and creme brule notes goes really well with dessert and christmas cake. And then something like White Label or Dewar’s 8 would go really well with fish - so something that is lighter in character with citrus elements, I think would go really well.

I try to experiment with whisky, and even cooking with whisky. It’s versatile. Just have fun and experiment. Recently for me, it was a highball with curry - the ginger matched quite well with the dish and the highball was a refreshing complement.

What do you think about making cocktails with whisky?

Something that we are fairly new to in whisky is making cocktails. I am pretty hopeless at making cocktails, but I have gotten much better over the past year. Probably about 10 years ago, cocktails were a bit hands off, and there are still folks that will hear nothing of it. I was at a conference and some guys were quite upset that I was mentioning the notion of using whisky in cocktails.

But it is your whisky; you bought it, so you’re entitled to drink it how you want to. So, if you don’t want to have it in a cocktail, then don’t. All we’re saying to people is don’t be afraid of whisky. Whisky wasn’t made to stand in ceremony. It was made truly to be enjoyed; to give comfort and warmth.

I love a Mamie Taylor and an Old Fashioned. And I do love a Negroni as well - whisky plays no part in a negroni but I feel very grown up when I drink a negroni and I love the beautiful ruby color as well. And I love a Bramble, it’s a nice whisky, very fruity, but I normally leave that to the professionals. With the Portuguese Smooth, we use the Fever Tree Aromatic Tonic and that goes really well with a wedge of orange.

We’re very lucky that we have such a great range of mixers that can match with the quality of the whisky.

In Closing

Stephanie’s expertise and long-standing commitment to the craft of blending is exhibited in the delight with which she speaks about her work. It has also been suitably acknowledged within the industry by Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky Scotland 2018 by awarding her Master Blender of the year.

This was also followed with the award for ‘Master Blender of the Year’ for 2019 & 2020 by the International Whisky Competition. With this deeper understanding of the work behind every blend, we are excited to discover what will come next from the House of Dewar’s, and hope that your next glass of Dewar’s will offer you an even deeper vibrant tasting experience. Cheers!