Gabriel Cardarella On Dewar’s Japanese Smooth, Working With Author & Mixologist Masahiro Urushido, TV, Cincinnati & More
As founded in 1846 by John Dewar, John Dewars & Sons Ltd. has grown from a small wine and spirits merchant shop in Perth, Scotland to a globally-renowned, celebrated blended scotch whisky brand. Dewar’s Japanese Smooth is the latest offering from Dewar’s, bringing together whisky-making cultures and traditions from Scotland and Japan into a single bottle. The latest edition of the Dewar’s Cask Series, Dewar’s Japanese Smooth features Dewar’s 8-year-old double-aged whisky, as finished and aged in Japanese Mizunara Oak casks for 3 months. The porous qualities of the rare 200-year old Mizunara oak tree variety, also known as “the water oak,” allows for this spirit to shine bright.
Gabriel Cardarella is the North American Brand Ambassador for John Dewars & Sons Ltd., having joined the Dewar’s fold over a decade ago in 2009. Cardarella hosted myself and other media professionals at New York City restaurant Katana Kitten on September 29, 2021 for a tasting of Dewar’s Japanese Smooth alongside acclaimed mixologist Masahiro Urushido; Urushido is also the author of the forthcoming book The Japanese Art Of The Cocktail. Among the topics discussed by Cardarella and Urushido while on-site at Katana Kitten were Dewar’s evolution via the launch of its cask series, the flavor notes of its Japanese Smooth, and the complex distilling process perfected by Master Blender Stephanie Macleod in assembling this spirit. Simply put, the presentation by Cardarella and the cocktails prepared by Urushido were both very impressive and highly-memorable.
On October 15, 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking with Gabriel Cardarella — now known to yours truly as Gabe Cardarella — about the past, present and future of Dewar’s, how he came to appreciate scotch, his music industry background, where you ought to go in his hometown of Cincinnati for great food and drinks, and plenty more. More on Dewar’s and its spirits can be found here, here and here.
