I have to confess this right out of the gate: I don’t particularly love Scotch and I hate the taste of honey. That should make Dewar’s pretty nervous as I prepare to review Dewar’s Highlander Honey, a brand new Scotch-based honey-flavored liquor, right?

Let me follow up and say that much of the reason that I am not a huge Scotch fan is that I haven’t tried a whole lot of it. In fact, I joined the Albuquerque Whiskey Club just to get some more exposure to it.

There is only one other Scotch-based liqueur that I’ve tried, and that’s Drambuie, which is also sweetened with honey, plus an assortment of herbs. Outside of the Scotch and honey connection, these two products might as well be opposites. Drambuie is sticky and most people find it too sweet to drink by itself. Dewar’s Highlander Honey, however, is nowhere near as sweet. In fact, I’d say it’s mostly a Scotch with a very slight trace of sweetness to it, and I detected little-to-no distinct honey flavor.

Funny enough, for a guy who’s a Scotch newbie and a honey hater, Dewar’s Highlander Honey (which retails for $24) is actually just right for me. It takes the distinct characteristics of Scotch that I’m still learning to love and makes them more accessible with a very subtle touch of natural sweetness.

Photos by Jasmine Nicole.