Fragrant Drops North British 31yo Cask #48670 & Little Brown Dog North British 32 Year Old Small Batch

Fragrant Drops North British 31yo Cask #48670

Region: Lowlands

ABV: 50.5%

Price: £95.00

Distilled on 17 November 1993 and fully matured in a first fill ex bourbon barrel, this North British single grain was bottled on 4 June 2025 at 31 years Selected by and bottled for The Bowlers Rest by Fragrant Drops. Just 60 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with toffee pops, vanilla bean, buttery popcorn and something a little industrial, a little bit of nail varnish remover.. but a deeper, sweeter, oakier version. There’s nicely balanced alcohol here, it’s noticeable when deep in the glass but not offensive at all. Time and air brings out more fudge aromas, a little mint leaf and apple skin. 

Palate

The palate opens with dark brown sugar, wood spice, dark cooking chocolate, Chantilly cream and a little industrial spirit in the background. The alcohol is more noticeable now, a tad hotter than we’d like but it’s manageable, with more wafer cones and clove coming through. The mouthfeel is good, a nice viscous texture, and the finish lingers on with only a slight bitter oak appearing, and some bruised mint leaves. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has a little acidity appearing, like Granny Smith apples, actually there’s more orchard fruitiness appearing in general now. There’s a little banana too, but we’re still getting a lot of the bourbon cask coming through. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate loses a bit of mouthfeel but still comes through with the brown sugar, dark chocolate, creamy vanilla and toffee flavours from before. The alcohol feels a tad lighter too. 

Conclusion

A solid North British, we’ve enjoyed the sister casks to this and it follows suit. With it being in wood a bit longer than the others, it’s taken more of a richer, oakier profile. Very tasty whisky.

Score: 8/10

Value

We can’t complain; this is competitively priced compared with similar releases.

Little Brown Dog North British 32 Year Old Small Batch

Region: Lowlands

ABV: 44.2%

Price: £84.95

Distilled on 17 December 1992 and bottled on 18 February 2025 after 32 years of maturation, this Little Brown Dog small batch single grain is a vatting of five refill bourbon barrels. Bottled with an outturn of 567 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with a hit of fresh vanilla bean, brandy butter, warm cinnamon pastries, caramelised brown sugar, and red apples warmed in syrup. It’s incredibly expressive, it jumps out of the glass, and has an incredible balance, very little industrial grain spirit coming through. Going back, there’s some golden syrup, almond paste and a little stale sponge cake too. 

Palate

The palate opens with a thick, caramel syrup like texture, following through into well made caramel, milk chocolate buttons, toffee crisp bars, hazelnut praline, and a touch of grain spirit right on the finish. There’s also a fresh orchard fruitiness coming through, lots of red apple, a little pear skin and maybe a touch of roasted banana with torched brown sugar. The finish lingers on for a really good while, vanilla ice cream and Milky Bar white chocolate buttons. The grain spirit is really hidden as the palate develops, leaving lots of well balanced cask flavours. The alcohol is also well integrated. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has a lost a little bit of the punch of cask, but there’s still lots of vanilla, brown sugar, sponge cake, a little candied ginger and toffee. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate doesn’t change too much, there’s a bit more ginger, but gingery sponge cake, and lots of vanilla frosting. It doesn’t need any water, but water doesn’t kill it. 

Conclusion

Really well made whisky. From our understanding this was a vatting of five hogsheads with very little liquid left in each - you can tell it’s had a good amount of oxidisation and cask extraction - a leaky cask situation. It’s worked out well and this vatting is delicious. We bought a bottle. 

Score: 8.5/10

Value

£10 cheaper than today’s bottle, which is already competitively priced.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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