Littlemill, the sequel tasting


July 25, 2017

Littlemill, the sequel tasting

No we weren’t done with little Littlemill. Remember, this is Whiskyfun.

Littlemill 26 yo 1990/2017 (53.8%, Archives, hogshead, cask #32, 267 bottles)

It’s true that I wouldn’t mind a little explanation about the relations between Littlemill and green crabs. Ha-ha. Colour: pale gold. Nose: same vein as that of the Whisky-Doris that we tried yesterday. Perfect fruit salad sprinkled with honey and liquid caramel. Werther’s Originals, praline, Jaffa cake, ripe melons, fresh bark. I have to say this baby sits right between some ex-bourbon Balblair and Bruichladdich. With water: gets straighter, with wonderful grasses. Fresh mint. Mouth (neat): brilliant arrival, fresh, fruity, yet firm, absolutely not vulgar (some ueber-fruiters can get a little vulgar in my book), with this tropical side that we love so much. It’s even got an Irish side, mind you (indie Bushmills anyone?) With water: yeah… Oranges mangos, tangerines, maracujas, white cherries… Finish: same, for quite a long time. Comments: so utterly and totally good! But watch it, it’s another one that’s very dangerously drinkable. Consult a doctor before buying a case. SGP:651 - 90 points.

Littlemill 23 yo 1988/2012 (54.9%, The Whisky Cask, 1st fill sherry butt)

Full sherry this time again. Remember the brilliant Hart Bros.? Colour: full amber. Nose: chocolate and butterscotch tangoing to perfection, with ganache-y notes in the background, as well as a little mocha, maduro cigars, and black tea. And yet, there is a lightness to this, which I enjoy mucho. Totally not heady sherry, quite the opposite. With water: old copper coins, ‘dry’ coffee beans, earth, geranium flowers, earl grey, cocoa… There's not a throwaway in the bunch! Mouth (neat): so totally very good! Blood oranges, chocolate, rum, parsley, a drop of soy sauce, lovage… How good is this? As some friend sometimes says, I want to marry this whisky (he’s a still a bachelor). With water: blood oranges all the way. Finish: long, both wide and even kind of fat, and yet fresh and citrusy. Comments: the finishes are always the trickiest parts (as Carl Lewis would have said). This time, the finish was perfect too. SGP:651 - 91 points.

Littlemill 24 yo 1992/2016 (52.2%, Cadenhead, bourbon hogshead, 294 bottles)

It’s going to get tougher, in my book 1992 was not the best vintage at Littlemill. Colour: pale gold. Nose: indeed, its much less expressive than the 1988-1990s, less fruity, and rather more porridge-y. Cereals, oatcakes, a little plasticine, a little cardboard. More ‘official’ than ‘indie’, whatever that means. With water: a few tropical fruits coming out, but it’s no fruit bomb. Let’s call this a light tropicalness. Mouth (neat): nah, it’s very pleasant, it’s got these zesty tropical notes, it’s got cider apples, it’s got mangos, and it’s got blood oranges. This is funny, this lovely palate does quite go with the more mundane nose. With water: same, plus a little sweet white wine, I’m thinking of sweet Jurançon. Do you know Jurançon? Try it if you can find some! Finish: medium, fruity, and quite tropical. It’s not quite got the expressiveness of earlier vintages, but we’re getting there once water’s been added. Comments: super fine, especially in this very tricky context. SGP:551 - 86 points.

Banff 40 yo 1976/2017 (51.2%, Cadenhead, 175th Anniversary, hogshead, 192 bottles)

Littlemill 26 yo 1991/2017 (52.6%, Cadenhead, 175th Anniversary, bourbon barrel, 180 bottles)

I have to say the Convalmore in this series was very impressive. But Littlemill is not Convalmore, although you could always find similarities (that grassy, lime-y side, for example). Colour: straw. Nose: first comments, 1991 is not 1992 (thank you Einstein). And second, this is the most mineral of them all, as we’re finding limestone, flints, clay, chalk, and some kind of concrete dust. There’s a mineral freshness to it, beyond the usual fruits that are only whispering here, from oranges to mangos. A medicinal touch, perhaps, tincture of iodine? In Littlemill? With water: no, it’s totally mandariny. Skins and flesh and those white parts. Mouth (neat): whispering fruits? Were you joking, S.? There’s more fruits in this than at Fortnum & Mason’s Fruit Department, especially mangos, pink bananas, papayas, and pomelos. There. Also litchis and rosewater, as in a well-aged, glorious gewürz (with a private nod to Sequoia Grove). With water: tiny herbs coming out, as often happens. Lemongrass. Finish: medium, clean, very fruity, almost bonbony. More mandarins. Comments: the missing link between the distillery’s very last years and its most glorious vintages? Perhaps… SGP:651 - 90 points.

Good, eight Littlemills altogether, that’s quite enough, don’t you agree?

(Gracias again, Tomislav)

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