Drookit Dug 2011 Refill Sherry Butts Little Brown Dog Blended Scotch Whisky 70 cl 43.6%

Drookit is Scots for soaked through, the kind of wet you get when the rain arrives sideways. Little Brown Dog has handed the name to a whisky bottled at cask strength that still lands softly.

The expert description

Drookit Dug 2011 is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in refill sherry butts and bottled at cask strength 43.6%.

The point of this bottle is a small technical detail with a large consequence. After twelve years the two casks had lost so much strength that they arrived at 43.6% entirely on their own. Rather than dilute a stronger whisky down to that level, Little Brown Dog bottled the casks exactly as they stood. The result carries the texture and concentration you would normally associate with far higher strengths, in a form you can drink a full glass of.

The whisky was distilled in 2011 and bottled in 2023 from two refill sherry butts with a high malt content. It yielded 509 bottles, neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Tasting notes

Nose

Thick cut marmalade, bay leaf and a puff of pink candy floss. The sherry is present without filling the whole room.

Palate

Soft and full of pastry. Bread and butter pudding, rose water Turkish delight and a note of fresh strawberry behind it.

Finish

Toasted marshmallows on hot chocolate. Sweet, round and longer than the strength would lead you to expect.

Specifications

Name: Drookit Dug 2011
Bottler: Little Brown Dog
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 43.6%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Refill Sherry Butt
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2011
Bottled: 2023
Number of bottles: 509

Flavour profile

Sherry matured · Fruity · Soft · Sweet · Creamy

Did you know?

Little Brown Dog began as a crowdfunding project in Aberdeenshire, where buyers could club together to finance a whole cask. The dog on the label is not a logo bought from an agency but the firm’s own, and every release carries it.

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Frequently asked questions about Drookit Dug 2011

What does Drookit Dug mean?

Soaked dog in Scots. The name nods to the bottler’s logo and to Scottish weather, and it is a quiet joke about a whisky that lost strength in the cask like a dog left out in the rain.

How can 43.6% be cask strength?

Because alcohol evaporates faster than water in a damp Scottish warehouse. After twelve years the two casks had fallen to 43.6% by themselves, and the whisky was bottled without a drop of water added. That gives it more texture than the number suggests.

What does it taste like?

Soft and pastry-led with marmalade, strawberry and toasted marshmallow. The sherry casks contribute fruit and sweetness rather than heavy dark notes, so it sits lighter than many sherry matured whiskies.

Which distillery does the whisky come from?

That is not disclosed. As a blended Scotch it holds malt and grain from several distilleries, and the bottler does not hold the rights to name them. This is entirely normal for independent releases.

What is a sherry butt?

One of the largest casks used in Scotch maturation, around 500 litres, previously filled with sherry. Refill means the cask has already held whisky once before, which gives a gentler and fruitier influence than a 1st fill cask.

Is 509 bottles a small number?

Very. A large distillery fills that many in under a minute. Once the two casks are empty this particular whisky no longer exists, and the batch cannot be repeated.

How is it best served?

Neat and at room temperature. At 43.6% it has no need for water, and ice shuts down the finer pastry notes. A tulip-shaped glass helps. See our whisky glasses.