Little Brown Dog Wee Mongrel 21yo Batch 3 & Little Brown Dog Glenburgie 2014

Little Brown Dog Wee Mongrel 21yo Batch 3

Region: N/A

ABV: 45.5%

Price: £87.00

We don’t have extensive details about Batch #3 of Wee Mongrel, other than it originates from ex-Edrington stock and includes a grain component, though it remains predominantly malt-based. This batch was aged for 21 years in Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez casks before being bottled at cask strength. A total of 573 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with a fair amount of older grain sweetness, golden syrup, raisins, dried apricot, warehouse must, and charred oak. The alcohol is almost non-existent, it’s clear there’s a good amount of older whisky in this dram that’s had its ABV naturally reduced over time. Going back and we’re getting cherry bakewell slices, lots of toasted almonds, dustings of cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little nut brittle too.

Palate

The palate opens with brown sugar, cinnamon swirls with sugar drizzle icing, golden syrup with some dark chocolate and a handful of sultanas. It’s almost overly sweet, it’s very decadent.. it’s like drinking a chocolate fudge cake. The mouthfeel is fine, it’s not overly textured but for the ABV, it’s got a nice syrupiness about it. The alcohol balance is great, you could drink this very very quickly without even noticing. Going back, we’re getting more baking spices, red apple skins and toffee.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has a richer, slightly drier and nuttier feel, the torched sugar crust of a creme brûlée, and lots more nutmeg shining through. There’s also some fudge and nougat appearing for us now. Less fruit, more baking spice.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has lots of upfront red kola flavours for us, cherry jam, apricot, and lots and lots of brown sugar mixed into butter. It’s now even more drinkable, but perhaps we added a few too many drops of water so we recommend you exercise caution here. It’s still got a lot of the previous flavours, just a bit more toffee and baking spice for us.

Conclusion

The general consensus is that you could arse a bottle of this this quite easily. In less Scottish terms, LBD have continued their streak with their wee mongrel series, producing another excellent sherried blend. It’s not the most complex of whiskies, but it’s a liquid dessert in a glass. We’d happily snatch a bottle if the opportunity presented itself.

Score: 8/10

Value

£87 for a 21yo whisky is an absolute steal.

Little Brown Dog Glenburgie 2014

Region: Speyside

ABV: 55.9%

Price: £86.00

Distilled in 2014, this whisky was aged for 10 years in a refill bourbon hogshead before being finished for the last 8 months in an Armagnac cask. A total of 313 bottles have been released.

Nose

The nose opens with bread dough, very yeasty but not in too young of a spirit way, more like freshly baked white bread. Behind this sits stale lemonade, but overall the nose is very tight, not too much going on for us. The alcohol is in decent balance, not too punchy but giving the dram a bit of a white pepper spice. Time and air reveals oat flapjacks, maybe a sprinkling of raisins from a “healthy oat bar”, as well as a lemon zest dusted biscuit.

Palate

The palate has considerably more up front flavour than the nose would lead us to believe, and the armagnac cask definitely shines through more. There’s green grapes, preserved lemon juice, more of those oaty, raisin and sultana bars. There’s a rich cocoa flavour coming through now, along with a bit of chilli heat, it’s got a sort of chili/chocolate feeling about it. The mouthfeel is nice, there’s some marshmallow like texture there, alongside brandy snaps and ginger heat on the finish. As the dram develops, we’re finding more of an almond and white chocolate blondie flavour appearing.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose doesn’t change too much, a little creamier for us and perhaps a little less bread dough-forward. On second nosing, it’s also less spicy, although there’s still some white pepper in the background. We’re getting a touch of merengue now, and a little shortbread too.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has a lot less of that child heat, in fact it’s become very soft and mellow. The merengue from the reduced nose has transitioned to the palate, a more lemony merengue sprinkled with a little bit of cinnamon on top. It feels in better balance with a few drops of water, and we probably prefer it, although the finish does take a bit of a hit. We’re still getting the white chocolate and marshmallows too.

Conclusion

We were apprehensive based on the nose, it felt like a younger, yeast-forward type of whisky without too much cask influence, however the palate really made up for this. The armagnac finish has given the dram a much needed bit of complexity in our eyes, and we quite enjoyed how the palate developed over time. Slightly too hot in places, but a good 8 year old whisky overall.

Score: 6/10

Value

£86 might seem a bit pricey, but LBD typically sets competitive prices, so we assume the higher cost is due to the cask finish.

• 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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