Little Brown Dog Caol Ila 13yo

Little Brown Dog Caol Ila 13yo

Region: Islay

ABV: 55.7%

Price: £70.00

Distilled on the 10th April 2012 and bottled on the 12th February 2026 after 13 years of maturation, this Little Brown Dog single cask Caol Ila was matured in a refill butt. Outturn of 327 bottles.

Nose

Palate

The palate opens with salted butter, toffee, ham hock, tar, white sugar, and dried roasted peanuts. These are followed by a farmyardy note, and some hay, on the mid palate. Some ginger spice appears on the good length finish joining the other notes. Definitely more savoury, but there’s enough sweetness here to balance that. The mouthfeel is just a touch thin, but other than that we’re pretty much complaint free. 

Nose (with water)

Water brings out a touch of chlorine while also slightly dimming the peat. It’s also less sweet, though the alcohol spice remains in good balance. Overall, it comes across as a more muted version of the undiluted nose.

Palate (with water)

The palate has held up well to water and is now noticeably sweeter, with vanilla pod and brown sugar coming through. The pre-dilution notes are still present, just sitting in the background. There is still a good hit of smoke. The mouthfeel has become a little more coating, and the finish remains medium in length with a nice balance between spice and sweetness.

Conclusion

There is a lot to enjoy here both diluted and undiluted. Personally, we prefer the undiluted, less sweet profile, though we are sure others will disagree. However you choose to enjoy it, this is a great example of what the distillery can do.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

Competitively priced against other comparable indie bottler releases.

• 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.

If you like what you’ve read then check out our social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to get notifications of when we post a new review or just to chat about whisky with us.