Cameronbridge 1992 Wee Broon Coo & Benrinnes 2012 Little Brown Dog

Cameronbridge 1992 Wee Broon Coo

Region: Lowlands

ABV: 54.0%

Price: £80.00

This is single cask 1992 vintage Cameronbridge that was matured in a refill butt. It was released in collaboration between independent bottlers Little Brown Dog and David Stirk.

Nose

We're met with sweet french pastries, brioche loaf with milk chocolate chips baked within, plum jam, walnuts, brown sugar-torched figs and a little balsamic vinegar acidity. It's a well rounded nose, you can notice how well the grain spirit has aged and mellowed out, mixed with subtle hints of the sherry maturation. Time and air bring out a more savoury quality, black pepper crusted venison, following into butterscotch and vanilla drizzle.

Palate

The palate begins with creamy vanilla custard, warm honey, butterscotch and milk chocolate towards the latter part of the palate. Our initial impressions lean more towards a bourbon maturation rather than sherry, but on subsequent sips we begin to notice some rhubarb, cherry delice and warm clove spice. The mouthfeel is nice, it's got a reasonably thick, caramel-like texture and the finish lingers on for a fair while with Japanese milk bread and butter.

Nose (with water)

A slightly murkier nose, a little warehouse must and rancio. Some of those sweeter aromas have been lost which is a little bit of a disappointment. We still get some of the chocolate and cherry, alongside more of an oak spice. We much prefer the nose without dilution.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate brings chocolate chip ice cream, it's incredibly distinct. It's like drinking chocolate milk, or maybe a super sweet White Russian cocktail. The alcohol spice has mellowed somewhat too. We're torn, the diluted palate brings out our inner child, but the diluted nose isn't worth it (and overall it feels a little less complex). We'd skip the water.

Conclusion

This is delicious. We're fans of older single grains, especially in nice inactive sherry butts, and this is an almost perfect example of this style. We do get a little more bourbon than sherry on the palate, but both flavour profiles mingle well together. Our only minor complaint would be the alcohol can be a touch too hot in places, but we're nitpicking. An easy 8.5/10.

Score: 8.5/10

Benrinnes 2012 Little Brown Dog

Region: Speyside

ABV: 55.4%

Price: £65.00

Next up, a Benrinnes that was filled on 09/01/2012 into a refill oloroso hogshead, and bottled on 24/02/2023. 246 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with raspberry yoghurt, strawberry jam and clotted cream spread liberally over a freshly baked scone and a little lemon zest that appears after a while of nosing. It's quite an oily nose, a little flint and poached pears in white wine making an appearance too. The alcohol feels relatively well balanced, without too much spice coming through, and allowing us to get our noses deep into the glass.

Palate

The palate begins with candied orange peel, juicy plums, rum and raisin ice cream and dark chocolate towards the latter part of the palate. It's got a thick and viscous mouthfeel with toffee, cinnamon and nutmeg spice coming through too. The palate is slightly pepperier than the nose, however it feels mostly in balance. There's some breadiness here too, condensed milk and dry oak spice on the good length finish.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose brings some stewed red fruits, a little fresh mint and sweet, lightly toasted oak. We feel like it's a touch more simplistic, we've lost some of the aromas we got previously. There's a light minerality now too, it's almost slightly coastal.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate is richer, more sherry forward with chocolate, hazelnut and digestive biscuit crumbs. There's more oak coming through, but sweet oak rather than the usual drier oak we often get after reducing a whisky. It's still got a lot of the cinnamon, nutmeg and caramel flavours too. We'd say that the palate benefits quite a lot from the addition of water.

Conclusion

Quite a bit of sherry influence from a refill hoggie, but not so much to turn it into a sherry bomb. It's a bold dram, not in upfront flavours and aromas, but in a robust, sturdy way. Good quality whisky in a good quality cask. It can be a bit peppery in places, especially on the finish, but the price is pretty reasonable so we'll go with 7.5/10.

Score: 7.5/10

• 10 - Perfection. A whisky that we’ll remember forever.
• 9 - Amazing. We’d pay through the nose for a bottle.
• 8 - Great. Pick this up at RRP.
• 7 - Good. Happy to have a dram or two but wouldn’t buy a bottle.
• 6 - Passable. Would accept a dram, but wouldn’t seek it out.
• 5 - Poor. Would drink if it was the only option.
• 4 - Bad. Maybe it can be saved by ginger beer?
• 3 - Awful. It can't be saved by ginger beer.
• 2 - Pour it out
• 1 - We’ve never tried a whisky rated this low and hopefully never will.

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