Little Brown Dog Wee Mongrel Batch One 20 Year Old Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

let’s begin

Despite the cutesy name, this is a fierce and brilliantly developed blended malt with an exciting flavour profile.

LBD

Started by Andrew Smith, who used the name to label cask samples from different distilleries he visited, Little Brown Dog Spirits is based in the hotspot for distilling in Scotland; Aberdeenshire. His own trusty little brown dog would accompany him as he ventured round distilleries and this is where the name came from.

As he got into experimenting with his cask samples, Andrew realised that going in distilling might not be a terrible idea. In 2018 he made it official and teamed up with his friend Chris Reid, who is a local farmer, to formalise the distillery. Since then they have created a range of gins and now their first batch of blended malt.

Classed as micro distillery, the operation is small compared to most brands but the output is just as good. Being small and independent gives the company a lot of leeway when it comes to be creative and a bit outside the box. Considering one of their experimental gins is called Project Another Fucking Gin, it’s safe to say they’ve embraced that.

Wee Mongrel 20 Year Old Batch One Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

This is a wonderfully rare and intriguing malt and a great opportunity for LBD to showcase their prowess at bottling brilliant blends. Aged to a perfect 20 years in a single sherry butt, this is a hard to come by blended malt that speaks to the Speyside surroundings of the distillery.

It has been bottled at cask strength and is non-chill filtered.

This is the first batch to be released by LBD and is an excellent start to what we hope will be a full range someday.

Tasting notes for Wee Mongrel 20 Year Old Batch One Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

Bottle cost: £49.00

The nose begins with notes of dried fruit and white chocolate. It is sweet and slightly earthy with a gentle hint of spice in the background.

The palate is full of sherried notes. Figs, raisins and cinnamon are all there, with a lovely oak note. There is a slightly darker note in the background, of coffee and dark chocolate.

The finish lingers for a while and is full of spice.

LBD have hit the nail on the head with this release. The age, the richness of the flavour and the excellent Speyside qualities all make for a truly brilliant dram.

Are you a fan of Little Brown Dog Spirits or their Wee Mongrel 20 Year Old Blended Malt? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Tags: 20 Year OldBatch OneBlended MaltLittle Brown DogWee Mongrel

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.