Dewar’s releases the sixth Champions Edition 19 Year Old, finished in Wölffer Estate Cabernet Franc casks and crafted to honor the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Limited quantities, $79.99.
Six years in, Dewar’s has figured out how to make an announcment feel like a ceremony.
The 2026 Champions Edition 19 Year Old arrives just as the 126th U.S. Open tees off at Shinnecock Hills, one of the five founding clubs of American golf and arguably the most windswept, unforgiving stretch of turf the USGA puts in front of the world’s best players each decade.
For the occasion, Master Blender Stephanie Macleod finished a 19-year Scotch in Cabernet Franc casks from Wölffer Estate, a Southampton winery that knows its way around a difficult growing season. The result is a whisky that smells like Long Island in the best possible sense. which, for the record, is florals, red fruit, and the quiet confidence of oak that has done its work.
The Craft Behind the Collaboration
Macleod, a six-time Master Blender of the Year, did not reach for an obvious finish here.
Cabernet Franc casks are a specific choice, tighter grain than Cabernet Sauvignon, more perfumed, with a herbaceous edge that requires the base spirit to have enough structure to push back. Dewar’s 19 starts in ex-bourbon and sherry casks for the bulk of its maturation, then moves to refill oak for harmonization before the Wölffer Cab Franc barrels do their finishing work. That three-stage architecture is not accidental. It is the reason the floral and red fruit notes in the finished whisky feel integrated rather than applied.
The tasting profile reads as a genuine conversation between the two traditions: violets and golden honey on the nose, red berries and blackcurrant through the midpalate, cinnamon and dried orange peel adding depth before a long finish of toasted oak and refined sweetness. It is a whisky that earns the word elegant without having to ask for it.
Why Wölffer Estate
Wölffer is not a novelty pick. The Southampton estate has been producing serious wine on the North Fork’s less-celebrated western sibling since 1988, and its Cabernet Franc; grown in the same Atlantic-influenced climate that makes Long Island viticulture consistently interesting, carries the kind of terroir specificity that gives a cask finish something to say. Macleod described the collaboration as reflecting a natural synergy between whisky and wine, both shaped by time, place, and oak. That framing is accurate and, more importantly, it is visible in the glass.
The trans-Atlantic partnership the brand is touting — Scotland to Southampton — is about 3,300 miles of ocean and several centuries of tradition. The whisky makes the argument more convincingly than the marketing copy does.
Shinnecock Hills and the 19th Hole
The Champions Edition has always used the host venue as a conceptual anchor, and Shinnecock Hills is a worthy one. Founded in 1891, it is among the oldest golf clubs in the country and one of five founding members of the USGA. It does not make things easy for anyone — not the players, not the caddies, not the wind. A 19-year Scotch finished in wine casks feels appropriately serious for a course that has humbled every generation of professional golfer it has encountered.
The brand calls this their annual toast to the 19th hole: the mythical post-round gathering point where the real conversation happens. At $79.99 a bottle, it is the most affordable seat at Shinnecock Hills this week by a considerable margin.
The Collector Case
Six consecutive annual releases with distinct cask finishes, each tied to a specific championship venue, make the Champions Edition one of the more coherent limited-release programs in blended Scotch. The series began in 2021 with a partnership that has evolved each year, which means there is now a vertical to be assembled by anyone paying attention. The 2026 release — Cabernet Franc finish, Shinnecock provenance, Wölffer collaboration — is likely to be among the more distinctive in the series for collectors who care about the wine cask narrative specifically.
At 43% ABV and 19 years of maturation, the whisky is built to be opened, not archived. Though no one will stop you from doing both.
The Lemon Wedge, Briefly
Dewar’s 12 Year Old returns as the official cocktail base for the U.S. Open’s signature serve — the Lemon Wedge, a simple build of Scotch, lemonade, and club soda over ice. It is a stadium drink designed for sunshine and a four-hour round. It is not the reason to seek out Dewar’s this week, but it is a reasonable answer to the question of what to pour while you watch.
For more on the full Dewar’s range, visit dewars.com.
MINI FAQ
What is the Dewar’s 19 Year Old Champions Edition 2026?
It is a limited-edition blended Scotch whisky released annually to commemorate the U.S. Open Championship. The 2026 release marks the sixth edition and is finished in Cabernet Franc casks from Wölffer Estate in Southampton, New York, honoring the championship’s host venue at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
Where can I buy the Dewar’s Champions Edition 2026?
The 2026 Champions Edition is available in limited quantities at select fine wine and spirits retailers nationwide and online while supplies last. MSRP is $79.99 for a 750ml bottle at 43% ABV.
Who made the Dewar’s Champions Edition 2026?
The whisky was crafted by Stephanie Macleod, Dewar’s Master Blender and a six-time Master Blender of the Year. She collaborated with Wölffer Estate in Southampton, New York, to source the Cabernet Franc casks used in the final finish.
Flavor that earns its annual moment
The Dewar’s Champions Edition has earned its annual moment. Six releases in, the formula is consistent enough to trust and varied enough to remain interesting — and the 2026 vintage, with its Wölffer Estate Cabernet Franc finish and Shinnecock Hills provenance, gives collectors and casual drinkers alike a genuine reason to pay attention. The U.S. Open runs through Sunday. The whisky will not last that long at retail.
