Tasting two of the most unusual Littlemill ever

April 16, 2014

Tasting two of the most
unusual Littlemill ever

Unusual because one was bottled at 38.5%, which was legal at the time, while the other one was finished in sherry, which might have masked or even buried the distillate’s fruitful character. Or not, let’s see…

Littlemill 30 yo (38.5%, OB, Edinburgh crystal decanter, 75cl, +/-1985?)

We’re starting with this very rare and very old expression for one obvious reason, its very low strength. It’s from a square decanter and was most probably distilled in the 1950s. Colour: dark amber. Nose: it’s a sherried version and I think it’s absolutely impossible to detect any Littlemillness, such is the casks’s influence. We’re very much in cognac territories, but there are also sides that remind me of some old Macallans, which cannot be bad news. So old polished woods with touches of thuja and camphor, then roasted nuts and raisins, apricot pie and then hints of pinewood. Artisan strawberry jam. It’s a very lovely nose, obviously a little ‘antique’, and certainly not worn out. Could as well have been 40% vol. No, 43%. Mouth: sure it’s no big fat whisky, but it’s still filling your mouth, with some soft tannins that offset the lightness. A feeling of very old Sauternes wine, juicy golden raisins, three drops of yellow chartreuse that echo the pinewood, some cinnamon cake, a little praline, marmalade, blood oranges… It tends to lose steam but never nosedives, so you don’t feel frustrated. Finish: not that short! Sure it’s a little drying (cinnamon) but everything remains lovely and balanced. Raisins with a little cough syrup. A little gingerbread. Comments: I have to say this is a lovely surprise, I had thought this baby would be flat and, well, dead. But a low ‘cask’ strength and a low ‘reduced’ strength aren’t quite the same thing, are they? SGP:451 - 90 points.

Littlemill 1992/2012 (54.5%, Riegger's Selection, sherry cask finish, 629 bottles)

Aren’t we expecting a big beast? Colour: amber. Nose: mind you, there are very obvious similarities, which comes as a surprise. Sure this is a little more powerful, but not that much, while the profile, again, is very similar. Raisins, armagnac, polished wood, orange zests, roasted nuts… What’s interesting is that a few Littlemillian (what?) fruity notes start to come through as well, mostly tropical ones such as guavas and pineapples. They play well with the raisins. Even the touches of thuja wood are back. With water: we almost replicated the old 30, only with less resinous and camphory tones. Mouth (neat): this is very funny again, we aren’t far from the old 30 again at first sips, but the oak shows more after a few seconds, especially gingery tones as well as cloves. Other than that, it’s more oranges that come to the front, especially bitter ones, then fudges and toffees as well as bitterish herbal tea. Cherry stems? With water: more citrus is coming through, with something a little fizzy. Lemonade? The sherry is toned down. Finish: quite long, mostly on bitter oranges, some squash, some raisins, a little spearmint. Comments: I think Littlemill freaks will rather seek the ‘naked’ ones, but if you’ve already got two or four of those, this very good sherried version will make for a great alternative. SGP:551 - 87 points.

(with thanks to Amaury and Roger)

Check the index of all Littlemill I've tasted so far