Whiskey History: John Dewar, Jr.

By Richard Thomas

Dewar’s Whisky was founded in 1846 by John Dewar, Sr., but like so many enterprises in the whiskey trade, it wasn’t the founder who turned the company into an international player in the whiskey trade. In the case of Dewar’s, that work was done by two of John Dewar, Sr.’s sons. One of these was Thomas Dewar, who did so much to promote Dewar’s around the world. While he was doing that, John Dewar, Jr. stayed at home and managed the distillery, eventually growing it into a large company while pursuing a Parliamentary career as a Liberal MP.

Dewar, Jr. was born on June 1856. After taking over from his father, the younger John Dewar guided the company into becoming a global market leader by 1896. He remained at the head of Dewar’s until it merged with John Walker and Son (later Johnnie Walker) and the Distillers Company in 1925. The latter company was bought by Guinness in 1986 and renamed United Distillers, and later the majority of the Guinness-United Distillers aggregate became a big part of the Diageo portfolio. Dewar’s, however, is currently owned by Bacardi.

While he was building up his scotch business, John Dewar, Jr. was also a prominent Liberal politician. From 1900 to 1917, Dewar represented the Shire of Inverness in the British Parliament. In 1912, he chaired the Dewar Commission, a study of healthcare in the Highlands and northern islands of Scotland. Dewar was made a Baronet in 1907, and finally created Baron Forteviot in 1917, whereupon he left the Commons for the House of Lords. Although he never entered government, Dewar was twice appoined Lord-Provost of Perth.