Interview: Brian Cox, Vice President, Dewar’s, North America
September 27, 2023Bacardi-owned Dewar’s was up nearly 20% to 1.1 million cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank, ranking second after Johnnie Walker in the blended Scotch category. Dewar’s has seen a steady stream of innovative limited-time offerings, as well as a significant rebranding and repackaging for its 12-year-old whisky, as Bacardi attempts to tap into premiumization trends and position the brand as more upscale. SND senior editor Shane English recently caught up with Brian Cox, vice president of Dewar’s for North America, to discuss current trends and innovation strategy moving forward.
SND: How has Dewar’s performed so far in 2023?
Cox: We have very solid momentum with distribution and rate of sale, especially in the off-premise, which is continuing to grow. The holiday season is our power period—make or break for spirits as a whole—so it is all hands on deck out in the field. The star of the year, and I believe for many to come, is our relaunched Dewar’s 12.
SND: Last year, Dewar’s saw substantial gains, while the wider blended Scotch market contracted. What kept Dewar’s in growth mode?
Cox: There were several factors, but we’ve successfully recruited new consumers through our ongoing premiumization strategy. We’ve built a steady pipeline of premium innovations over the past few years that has helped grow the brand, most recently our reimagined Dewar’s 12-year-old last year. Dewar’s 12-year-old was created by our master blender Stephanie Macleod, who remastered our flagship bottle, double aging the liquid in first-fill Bourbon casks. Our consumers and whisky experts alike have responded extremely positively.
This success is coupled with a continued focus on our Dewar’s 15-year-old, along with continued excitement and momentum around our super-premium Dewar’s Double Double range, which starts at 21 years old.
SND: How are you reaching new consumers?
Cox: We have an incredible multi-year partnership with the USGA and specifically with their U.S. Open Golf Championship. This is supported by a fully integrated above and below the line marketing campaign. We also dedicate a limited-edition Dewar’s 19-year-old to the U.S. Open every year, which is co-branded and features a finish in American casks. This year we finished it in Napa Valley red wine casks.
Also, the innovations have created a kind of brand “head snap” and helped elevate the trade and consumers’ perception of Dewar’s. With our cask series, we pushed the boundaries of flavor and brought the concept of cask finishing from higher-end single malts to mainstream Scotch whisky. And we pushed our premiumization strategy to new heights with the launch of the Double Double Series.
SND: How does the innovation pipeline look currently?
Cox: We have two new releases for this fall. We have our first ever blended malt, Dewar’s Double Double 37: it’s 37 years old and finished in ex-Sherry casks that previously held Aultmore single malt and which is very Speyside in character. This will be the brand’s most premium marque to date and will be the first in a Collector’s Series that celebrates the art of cask maturation and the blending of Scotch whisky. Our second release is a Double Double 21-year-old finished in Japanese Mizunara casks. It’s a stunning contrast to our existing Double Double 21-year old-finished in Oloroso Sherry casks.
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