From Arctic island distilleries to Irn-Bru bottle samples, Andrew Smith’s whisky journey has been something however standard.
A practising vet earlier than co-founding Little Brown Canine Spirits Ltd in 2018, Andrew now spends his days deciding on casks, managing maturation, mixing, and designing releases for considered one of Scotland’s most characterful unbiased bottlers. Alongside co-founder Chris Reid, he’s helped flip LBD Spirits into an award-winning title, together with taking residence Finest Blended Scotch and Impartial Bottler of the 12 months on the 2024 Scottish Whisky Awards.
We caught up with Andrew to speak world whisky, dream drams, and the ignored artwork of discovering flavour within the sudden.
Whisky Is an Journey: International Picks Past Scotch
Scotch could also be Andrew Smith’s old flame, however his curiosity in world whisky runs deep, particularly in relation to the brand new Nordic scene.
“I’ve acquired a specific ardour for the brand new wave of Nordic distillers,” he says. Amongst his prime picks are Thy and Sall in Denmark, Smögen in Sweden, and Kyrö in Finland, a distillery LBD Spirits has even bottled from. However the one that basically stands out?
“Myken,” says Smith, “might be one of many craziest locations you could possibly ever construct a distillery.”
Positioned on a distant island north of the Arctic Circle, Myken is accessible solely by a five-hour boat journey from Bodø in northern Norway. It has no contemporary water, seawater is desalinated to be used, and simply twelve full-time residents. And but, improbably, it homes a working whisky distillery and even a restaurant run by a Michelin-starred chef.
“Regardless of the apparent challenges in distilling in such a wild and distant location,” Smith says, “they produce an unbelievable spirit that deserves all of our consideration.”
For him, whisky isn’t nearly flavour profiles, it’s about story, setting, and the locations whisky takes you. “I’ve all the time believed that whisky is an journey.”
Dream Drams & Memorable Moments
For somebody who’s constructed a profession round whisky, you would possibly anticipate Andrew Smith’s dream drams to return from uncommon auctions or status bottlings. In actuality, a few of his most unforgettable whiskies got here in recycled bottles with handwritten labels.
“We had an previous farming neighbour who’d made associates with varied warehouse managers through the years,” Smith explains. “He’d ‘acquired’ some completely loopy previous whiskies, all in Irn-Bru bottles, wine bottles or reused whisky bottles, labelled with post-it notes.”
Whereas the provenance could have been murky, the expertise was invaluable. “It was a really helpful train in growing your palate.”
However not all of his favourites are nameless. One standout was a 1939 G&M Mortlach, shared amongst associates on the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Pageant. One other memorable second got here at Lagavulin, spending a day sampling casks within the warehouse with the legendary distillery character Pinkie.
“So lots of my greatest whisky ingesting experiences have been as a lot concerning the folks I used to be having fun with them with,” he says. “That maybe biases my notion of the dram and the second, however that’s form of the purpose.”
Finest Core Vary Picks: High quality With out the Worth Tag
Whereas Andrew Smith’s work at Little Brown Canine usually focuses on small batches and single casks, he’s fast to champion the worth of well-made, extensively accessible whiskies.
“Reputations are constructed in your core product,” he says. “There are a selection of stand-out, wonderful worth malts on the market proper now.”
High of his listing is the Arran 10 12 months Outdated, not simply due to his connection to the distillery, however as a result of it persistently overdelivers. “It’s only a high quality product at a very reasonable worth.”
Different present favourites embody:
- Tobermory 12 – stuffed with character with a particular coastal be aware
- Ardnamurchan A/D Sherry Cask – wealthy, sherried and effectively balanced
- Glencadam 13 12 months Outdated – elegant, underrated, and nice worth
Smith additionally singles out Drookit Dug, Little Brown Canine’s personal blended scotch. “We wished to create a whisky that was adequate for whisky nerds like myself to take pleasure in, but additionally approachable and reasonably priced for sharing,” he says.
Bottled at cask power (albeit a barely decrease ABV), with no chill filtering or added color, it’s what Smith calls “a cask power session dram.” That steadiness between complexity and drinkability clearly resonated, Drookit Dug received Finest Blended scotch on the 2024 Scottish Whisky Awards.
The place Model Meets Wooden
When requested about whisky types, Andrew Smith doesn’t have a single reply, and that’s the purpose.
“My love of whisky has developed due to the variety of the spirit,” he says. For Smith, preferences shift with temper, climate, location, and firm. However his actual focus is the connection between spirit and cask.
“An enormous a part of my job at Little Brown Canine is attempting to match spirit character with wooden,” he explains. It’s not nearly flavour, it’s about discovering concord between distillate and maturation.
A few of his favorite pairings embody:
- Glen Garioch with first-fill bourbon
- Royal Brackla with oloroso
- Outdated grain with refill casks
Past the standard choices, Smith additionally enjoys experimenting with much less frequent cask sorts, Calvados, Pineau des Charentes, and white port, to call a number of. These extra uncommon finishes permit for brand spanking new textures and flavours, whereas nonetheless respecting the underlying character of the spirit.
“I suppose selection is my very own fashion.”
The Distillery That Made It Private
For Andrew Smith, one distillery stands out not only for its spirit, however for its folks: Arran.
It was Lagavulin 16 that first sparked his curiosity in whisky again in 2002. But it surely was Arran that turned that curiosity into one thing extra lasting. “The distillery that developed my curiosity in whisky from a ardour to an obsession was Arran,” he says.
What set it aside wasn’t simply the standard of the whisky, although that helped. It was the sense of group and welcome that left its mark. “The staff there actually made you are feeling like a part of what they had been doing,” Smith explains.
Arran additionally performed a key function in launching Little Brown Canine Spirits. “LBD actually owes an amazing quantity of gratitude to Euan Mitchell, MD at Isle of Arran Distillers, for the huge leg up they gave us to start with.”
By means of Arran, Smith made a tight-knit, worldwide group of lifelong associates, all introduced collectively by a shared love of whisky. “That connection,” he says, “is what made it particular.”
On Hidden Gems and the Artwork of Impartial Bottling
Ask Andrew Smith what defines an incredible unbiased bottler, and he’ll inform you it’s not about recreating consistency, it’s about celebrating distinction.
“I’m all the time in awe of the talents of the blenders in bigger corporations,” he says. “Managing to create constant and recognisable merchandise time and again is a severe ability.”
However unbiased bottlers function in another way. “The ability of the IB is discovering the inconsistencies, the little gems and casks with character that should be singled out and celebrated individually.”
It’s a reminder that nice whisky doesn’t all the time observe the principles. Typically it’s the sudden cask, the weird end, or the one-off second that makes one thing really particular.
Closing Ideas
Andrew Smith’s whisky world is stuffed with contradictions, Arctic islands and previous grain, Irn-Bru bottles and sherry casks, session drams and once-in-a-lifetime pours. However operating via all of it is a transparent philosophy: whisky ought to be adventurous, shared, and stuffed with character.
Whether or not he’s mixing one thing new or monitoring down a cask with a narrative to inform, Smith brings a deep respect for flavour, place, and folks. It’s not about the most costly bottle on the shelf, it’s concerning the one you bear in mind, and why.
To discover the whiskies he’s bottling now, together with the award-winning Drookit Dug mix, go to littlebrowndogspirits.com.
