Little Brown Dog 21yo Wee Mongrel [Batch 3]

The Maker

Little Brown Dog Spirits was founded in 2018 by Chris Reed and Andrew Smith at an Aberdeenshire farm. Named for the family dog which has since sadly died, the company quickly made a name for itself among the ever expanding roster of scotch independent bottlers. Like several others it feels like the production of their own whisky is an inevitability, with gin production well underway. But until that happens we'll have to make do with frequent releases of indi stocks throughout the year.

The last review of LBD I did was of one of their early 50cl bottles that had sat unopened on my shelf for far too long. A nice little Ardmore in a label designed to invoke the classic 1990s rally cars of Colin McRae. They still do motorsports themed releases on occasion, but they have thankfully now transitioned into full 70cl bottles.

As with all independent bottlers there isn't a whole lot to say about the company that's all that interesting. Over the past few years I've tried at least a dozen releases from them in one way or another, and most have been very good indeed. Hopefully their standard will be maintained, if not improved, as they continue to grow in the years ahead.

The Expression

This is Batch 3 of the Wee Mongrel blend. It has historically been a blend of ed-Edrington stock, meaning that its made from a blend of Macallan, Highland Park, and Glenrothes. How much of each we just don't know however.

What is different about this batch is that it also contains some grain whisky to make up the blend as the casks were running low. Again where this is from, what form it takes, and how much is in it is also unknown. Yet it is apparently a majority malt blend.

It was matured for a whopping 21 years in Oloroso and PX sherry casks and released at 45.5%. Only 573 bottles were produced with a fully natural presentation. The RRP was £87 ($116USD) but I happened across this on auction where it cost me £65.

The Neck Pour

Lovely luscious sherry on the nose which immediately reminds me of a Bunnahabhain 18. There is also a little bit of grain sweetness, with plenty of barley sugar. Also there is a fattiness like pork belly straight from the oven.

The taste is quite different however. For me it's utterly dominated by salted caramel and toffee popcorn. This is followed by a little bit of sulphur. Despite this popcorn dominance it all works very well together and has the mellowness you’d expect with its 21 years of age. It feels like a bit of a treat that makes the perfect Christmas dram.

The Body

This bottle has really proven to be very divisive over the last few months. I very much like it but I've struggled to find anyone else who shares my view. The nose and palate haven’t really changed since opening, minus the sulphur getting ever more dominant with time. While the popcorn seems to alienate other drinkers I can't get enough of it.

Beyond that there's a bit more sugar and Christmas spices coming through from the Oloroso.

Final thoughts

The sherry is still there but that sulphur toffee popcorn remains utterly dominating. I've read other reviews which get a lot more complex notes, but for me the popcorn overwhelms everything. I presume this is the Macallan element as I've had it with a few others I've tried, but never to this extent. Beyond that I can't help but wonder if the grain element is a bit of corn whisky? That would be very unusual and unlikely, but every corn whisky I've tired since has sent my mind right back to this bottle.

So strong is this flavour profile that it almost isn't a whisky at all at this point. Instead it's more like when you get a flavoured version of another drink (such as a fruit beer or chocolate stout) where that flavour is so strong that it takes over the base drink to the point where it isn't that recognisable anymore. As such this doesn't really fill the space of a whisky for me, but instead delivers on something else entirely.

Such a review may tempt you or put you off. I'd understand either. If the former I hope you can find this around somewhere. If the latter then it's probably a good thing that you missed it.