From Arctic island distilleries to Irn-Bru bottle samples, Andrew Smith’s whisky journey has been anything but conventional.
A practicing vet before co-founding Little Brown Dog Spirits Ltd in 2018, Andrew now spends his days selecting casks, managing maturation, blending, and designing releases for one of Scotland’s most characterful independent bottlers. Alongside co-founder Chris Reid, he’s helped turn LBD Spirits into an award-winning name, including taking home Best Blended Scotch and Independent Bottler of the Year at the 2024 Scottish Whisky Awards.
We caught up with Andrew to talk global whisky, dream drams, and the overlooked art of finding flavour in the unexpected.
Whisky Is an Adventure: Global Picks Beyond Scotch
Scotch may be Andrew Smith’s first love, but his interest in global whisky runs deep, especially when it comes to the new Nordic scene.
“I’ve got a particular passion for the new wave of Nordic distillers,” he says. Among his top picks are Thy and Sall in Denmark, Smögen in Sweden, and Kyrö in Finland, a distillery LBD Spirits has even bottled from. But the one that really stands out?
“Myken,” says Smith, “is probably one of the craziest places you could ever build a distillery.”
Located on a remote island north of the Arctic Circle, Myken is accessible only by a five-hour boat trip from Bodø in northern Norway. It has no fresh water, seawater is desalinated for use, and just twelve full-time residents. And yet, improbably, it houses a working whisky distillery and even a restaurant run by a Michelin-starred chef.
“Despite the obvious challenges in distilling in such a wild and remote location,” Smith says, “they produce an incredible spirit that deserves all of our attention.”
For him, whisky isn’t just about flavour profiles, it’s about story, setting, and the places whisky takes you. “I’ve always believed that whisky is an adventure.”
Dream Drams & Memorable Moments
For someone who’s built a career around whisky, you might expect Andrew Smith’s dream drams to come from rare auctions or prestige bottlings. In reality, some of his most unforgettable whiskies came in recycled bottles with handwritten labels.
“We had an old farming neighbour who’d made friends with various warehouse managers over the years,” Smith explains. “He’d ‘acquired’ some absolutely crazy old whiskies, all in Irn-Bru bottles, wine bottles or reused whisky bottles, labelled with post-it notes.”
While the provenance may have been murky, the experience was invaluable. “It was a very useful exercise in developing your palate.”
But not all of his favourites are anonymous. One standout was a 1939 G&M Mortlach, shared among friends at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival. Another memorable moment came at Lagavulin, spending an afternoon sampling casks in the warehouse with the legendary distillery character Pinkie.
“So many of my best whisky drinking experiences have been as much about the people I was enjoying them with,” he says. “That perhaps biases my perception of the dram and the moment, but that’s kind of the point.”
Best Core Range Picks: Quality Without the Price Tag
While Andrew Smith’s work at Little Brown Dog often focuses on small batches and single casks, he’s quick to champion the value of well-made, widely available whiskies.
“Reputations are built on your core product,” he says. “There are a number of stand-out, excellent value malts out there right now.”
Top of his list is the Arran 10 Year Old, not just because of his connection to the distillery, but because it consistently overdelivers. “It’s just a quality product at a very fair price.”
Other current favourites include:
- Tobermory 12 – full of character with a distinctive coastal note
- Ardnamurchan A/D Sherry Cask – rich, sherried and well balanced
- Glencadam 13 Year Old – elegant, underrated, and great value
Smith also singles out Drookit Dug, Little Brown Dog’s own blended scotch. “We wanted to create a whisky that was good enough for whisky nerds like myself to enjoy, but also approachable and affordable for sharing,” he says.
Bottled at cask strength (albeit a slightly lower ABV), with no chill filtering or added colour, it’s what Smith calls “a cask strength session dram.” That balance between complexity and drinkability clearly resonated, Drookit Dug won Best Blended scotch at the 2024 Scottish Whisky Awards.
Where Style Meets Wood
When asked about whisky styles, Andrew Smith doesn’t have a single answer, and that’s the point.
“My love of whisky has developed because of the diversity of the spirit,” he says. For Smith, preferences shift with mood, weather, location, and company. But his real focus is the relationship between spirit and cask.
“A big part of my job at Little Brown Dog is trying to match spirit character with wood,” he explains. It’s not just about flavour, it’s about finding harmony between distillate and maturation.
Some of his favourite pairings include:
- Glen Garioch with first-fill bourbon
- Royal Brackla with oloroso
- Old grain with refill casks
Beyond the traditional options, Smith also enjoys experimenting with less common cask types, Calvados, Pineau des Charentes, and white port, to name a few. These more unusual finishes allow for new textures and flavours, while still respecting the underlying character of the spirit.
“I suppose variety is my own style.”
The Distillery That Made It Personal
For Andrew Smith, one distillery stands out not just for its spirit, but for its people: Arran.
It was Lagavulin 16 that first sparked his curiosity in whisky back in 2002. But it was Arran that turned that curiosity into something more lasting. “The distillery that developed my interest in whisky from a passion to an obsession was Arran,” he says.
What set it apart wasn’t just the quality of the whisky, though that helped. It was the sense of community and welcome that left its mark. “The team there really made you feel like part of what they were doing,” Smith explains.
Arran also played a key role in launching Little Brown Dog Spirits. “LBD really owes a tremendous amount of gratitude to Euan Mitchell, MD at Isle of Arran Distillers, for the massive leg up they gave us in the beginning.”
Through Arran, Smith made a tight-knit, international group of lifelong friends, all brought together by a shared love of whisky. “That connection,” he says, “is what made it special.”
On Hidden Gems and the Art of Independent Bottling
Ask Andrew Smith what defines a great independent bottler, and he’ll tell you it’s not about recreating consistency, it’s about celebrating difference.
“I’m always in awe of the skills of the blenders in larger companies,” he says. “Managing to create consistent and recognisable products over and over again is a serious skill.”
But independent bottlers operate differently. “The skill of the IB is finding the inconsistencies, the little gems and casks with character that deserve to be singled out and celebrated individually.”
It’s a reminder that great whisky doesn’t always follow the rules. Sometimes it’s the unexpected cask, the unusual finish, or the one-off moment that makes something truly special.
Final Thoughts
Andrew Smith’s whisky world is full of contradictions, Arctic islands and old grain, Irn-Bru bottles and sherry casks, session drams and once-in-a-lifetime pours. But running through it all is a clear philosophy: whisky should be adventurous, shared, and full of character.
Whether he’s blending something new or tracking down a cask with a story to tell, Smith brings a deep respect for flavour, place, and people. It’s not about the most expensive bottle on the shelf, it’s about the one you remember, and why.
To explore the whiskies he’s bottling now, including the award-winning Drookit Dug blend, visit littlebrowndogspirits.com.
