Historic Distilleries: Littlemill

#1

#2

Littlemill was a lowland distillery closed as recently as 1996, which means there are still good possibilities to get your hans on a couple of bottles and still have money left for milk and bread. The distillery was, according to themselves, established as early as 1772, but there seems to be a little lack of documentation for that statement. The distillery itself never got much of a following as a single malt, but recent bottlings that have gotten more years on their back thn the standard OB's have shown there can be great quality in Littlemill too. Though being a lowland distillery it used highland water for production, which is the case for their malt as well. So in that matter, those who believe whisky is only a product of their Flora and Fauna might find hard to argue that if tasting Littlemill, as this is nothing like a highlander. Their stills, which are unique in Scotland, a pot still with a column still head, were made to produce a whisky that would mellow faster and therefore speeding up the income by cask using less time in the warehouses before being shipped off to blenders. There is little information about this distillery other than that it was driven in experimental manners with very varied success, I suppose. And a personal tip for any who wants to purchase a full bottle of this increasingly pricy lowlander, try a couple of samples or taste one of your pals opened bottles first, the quality of this malt varies a lot and its easy to spend good money on inferior whisky. Since I've got quite a number of Littlemill samples and minis I'll have this session in two sittings, #1 and #2 as stated above the photos.


#1
Littlemill 20yo 1985-2005 40% Gordon & Macphail Connoisseurs Choice cask#1685

From a refill sherry hogshead, cask#1685, I didn't know they used cask references on the CC-series, or even stated which cask the whisky comes from. I'd prefer it this way anyway. The color is pale, white wine. It smells raw, peppery, drying, latex, rubbery, yarn, wool, burnt plastic, not very pleasant I'm afraid. The taste is sweet, peppery, dried figs, dried red grapes, dried peaches, intense sour and sweet dried fruits, much better than the nose suggested. However its not a marathon runner, this is a nice palate and when its down its out, no finish. Some glue and grassy notes appears after a while of breathing but all in all this is a Littlemill with a bit of charm.

Easy drinking, light Littlemill with a fruity palate: 5


Littlemill 21yo 1991-2012 49% Whisky-Doris cask#554

From a bourbon cask, and quite low strength already for a CS of this age. But Whisky-Doris is a very good cask selector so I hope they've struck gold again. The color is white wine. It smells of sweet and peppery notes, black pepper, mustard, grassy, orange peel, bitter herbs, agricultures, not very pleasant nosing this one either. The taste is sweet, floral, spirit marker, grassy, spirity, a better linkup with the nose on this one, but not a better whisky. Let's add water. Now it turns sweeter, more dry, papery, oily, grassy, and one of the most floral whiskies I've ever had. I'm struggling abit with this spirity floral style, so if you're into that my tasting notes might seem even a little less universal than they usually do, if that's possible.

Littlemill character from start to finish, but you gotta like that: 3.5


Littlemill 17yo 1992-2009 50% Old Malt Cask Douglas Laing cask#3028

I bought a full bottle of this not long after the remaining parts of the distillery was demolished, thinking I might not get so many more opportunities. But then a whole brigade of 20-something Littlemills started arriving on the market. And now all I have left is this sample, and I remember it as a whisky I i hindsight should have tried as a sample first as I probably wouldn't have bough a full bottle then. But maybe times have changed me, as now a more experienced taster. From a refill hogshead. Bourbon or sherry? I have no idea, lets taste. The color is pale golden. It smells of sweet spirity notes. White rum and grassy notes springs to mind. This is more like vodka than whisky I'm afraid, some sweet vanilla and banana notes, but other than that its just like any other cheap booze. After some breathing more grassy and minty notes appears. The taste is peppery and sweet, cinnamon and kiwi on the palate as well as dried figs and dates, very good indeed. The finish is long, bitter and peppery. Certainly a Littlemill with more finesse.

Smooth and easily sip-able whisky: 6.5


Littlemill 21yo 1991-2012 50.6% A. Dewar Rattray cask#560

From a bourbon hogshead, let's hope its more palatable than the Whisky-Doris #554 at same age. The color is Pale golden. It smells of honey, waxy, heather and vanilla. Another rather simple nose. The taste is sweet, butter, peppery, tonic water, bitter, grassy, herbal, no hiding place for the slightly harsh Littlemill character here either. The taste is herbal, spicy, oregano, basil, peppery, nutmeg, chives, kinda refreshingly herbal. This is a great quality herbal lowlander, reminds me even a bit of some older Rosebanks or even St Magdalenes.

Herbal whisky, very well made: 6


Littlemill 21yo 1990-2012 53.3% The Nectar of the Daily Dram joint with LMDW

A joint bottling, I had a Strathisla of that kind recently and it was superb. But then again it was close to 40 years old. Up a bit in strength. The color is deep golden. It smells of strong, musty, earthy, floral notes, mustard and perfumes, a very different profile on this one. And I believe at least one of the casks in the mix is a sherry cask. The taste is sweet, honey, burnt, oaky, cinnamon, swiss cheese, leather, very nice indeed. Once again an honest dram that doesn't need any water or breathing to be enhanced in any way, just good whisky from a good cask, but as it lacks distillery character merely representable as a Littlemill, but then again, I'll have more sherried Littlemills in #2.

The black sheep of this session so far, but this cask has risen Littlemill to a new level: 7


Littlemill 18yo 1990-2008 53.5% Murray McDavid

A sample I purchased for Master of Malt back when they shipped to Norway. I'm sad those days are gone. Golden color. Murray McDavid unfortunately does not exist anymore as Bruichladdich was purchased by Remy Cointreau. Its sad as they had a lot of good bottlings back in the days. It smells of sweet, honey, peppery, flour sugar, marshmallows, vanilla, a real active bourbon cask I assume. Its a bit fun that these 1990s in this session seems so much more balanced than the 1991s. The taste is buttery, drying, leather, metallic, ginger, very strong and peppery. I believe this needs some water. With water it turns more floral, spirity, choriander, rubbery, burnt sugar, gasoline. This is one to have neat.

A macho whisky for the extremists: 4


Littlemill 21yo 1990-2012 54.7% SMWS 97.21

This one is called "Laurel, meadowsweet and honeysuckle". I guess that is what the bottlers recommend me to find in this whisky. There's been quite some honey and herbal notes in this session so far, I'll give them that. From a 1st fill bourbon cask. The color is golden. It smells of peppery, sweet leaves, oregano, honey, camphor, burnt sugar, cloves, toothpaste. One for the sweet-tooths? The taste is buttery, salty, vinegar, radishes, red onions, vegetal peppery notes, rhubarb, bok choi, really herbal, I can see what they mean by laurel. The finish is on honey, peppery notes, oaky, coal, rubber and rhubarb. I'd say that so far it seems the higher alcohol strength the less spirity these Littlemills becomes, which often is a good thing. But it also seems they prefered less tight casks at Littlemill than at many other distilleries.

Clean cut bourbon matured whisky: 6


Littlemill 20yo 1990-2010 56.2% First Cask cask#726

From a bourbon barrel. The color is golden. I have not tried much whisky from First Cask which I think is a german bottler. It smells austere, burnt, oaky, spirity. We're more towards the 91's in this, not very pleasant so far. The taste is sweet, drying, honey, very bitter, unripe apples, grape seeds, lime peel, barely drinkable at this point. Time to add some water. Now it turns sweeter, more honey, vanilla, watermelon, banana, white grapes. The finish is short and peppery. One with little off-notes on the palate, but a rather complicated nose, a bit like the 1985 CC. Not very interesting whisky, but an enjoyable dram that will fit most occasions. I must admit that there were not much variety in these casks, likely du to that the vintages and cask types are pretty similar. These sessions are all fun, but can get a bit exhausting for the palate, vive la contraste...

Finishing this seating of with another alright, okay, middle of the road Littlemill: 5


#2
Littlemill 5yo 40% OB

Time to start of this session with an older youngster. At a time many scottish distilleries bottled 5yo's, amongst them Macduff (Glen Deveron), Glen Grant, Auchentoshan, Glen Scotia. Maybe this age will see its renaissance soon as the OB bottlings seems to become younger and younger these days. Some evaporation in this oldie. It smells of wheat, peppery, bitter, herbal, licorice, oregano, citrus, lemon. The taste is bitter, peppery, lemon meringue, vanilla, dry licorice, very one-dimensional, all the nuances is gone in seconds and I'm left with a short and peppery finish. I think poor OB bottlings like this have contributed massively to the measly reputation Littlemill received when operational.

It's not bad, just very bland: 3.5


Littlemill 10yo 1990-2001 43% Signatory Vintage cask#2958

I think this whisky was part of a combo pack of one Littlemill and one Rosebank miniature from Signatory. Then I guess the former owner kept the Rosebank and put the Littlemill for sale on ebay, I wonder why... Mature in an oak cask, which I believe will mean some sort of 2nd or 3rd refill cask. The color is lighter than white wine, almost like water from a pothole. It smells grassy and spirity, some floral and weak herbal notes. Hard to detect any real odors here. Seems a bit like some Bladnoch newmake I once had. The taste is very weak, some sugary sweetness and little hint of vanilla, stewed onions and wheat beer, but not much more. One of the lightest and easiest whiskies I've ever come across. No finish at all on this.

I've had non-alcoholic beverages with more stamina than this one: 2.5


Littlemill 12yo 1984-1996 43% Signatory Vintage cask#2440,2441 btl.1000/1340

The 1985 in #1 was kind of a nice surprise, perhaps this one is as well? Let's give Signatory a chance of redemption after the dreadful 10yo. Another one probably from a good used cask. The color is once again borderline water, very pale. It smells of light sugary, white tea, peach ice tea, sweet white wine, once again very light and far from interesting. The taste is peppery, bitter, butter, white wine, mint leaves, bok choi, scallions, very light once again. The finish is short and slightly bitter-ish. Almost a copy of the #2958, but it tops it just by the smallest of margins. I'd say bottling these young Littlemills from nearly dead wood as single casks can't be good for you reputation Signatory? Well, I know there's plenty more superb SV's out there than there is inferior ones.

Another that one can find similarities of in many blend ranges: 3


Littlemill 21yo 1989-2011 51.3% The Whisky Agency

I had a full bottle of this called "crazy crocs" or something like that, there seems to be a new trend with very alternative bottling names these days. This comes from a refill sherry hogshead. The color is amber orange/light brown. It smells of butter, chili, red bell peppers, dried paprika, cinnamon, oaky, dark grapes. One cannot deny the sherry in this one. The taste is sweet, peppery, bitter, orange zest, honey, grape fruit, red wine, very good, but I will still add some water to this one as its very drying on the finish. Now it turns sweeter, oranges, honey, peppery, leather, nutmeg, custard, rich sweetness, nutty, cashew. The finish is bitter, dry licorice, peppery, cinnamon, a bit grassy, hints of distillate? I must say that even though there aren't much distillery character in this one and it doesn't strike much as a lowlander, but its still one of the best Littlemills I've ever had.

Great sherried Lowlander, I'd thought this was a first fill: 7


Littlemill 22yo 1989-2011 52.2% Liquid Sun

Another one from a refill sherry cask. Same vintage as the TWA as well. Superb! I have not tried much Liquid Sun but the ones I've had have held good standard. The color is mustard brown. It smells quite restrained, not much actually, some cinnamon, honey, raspberry jam and licorice. This is one that needs breathing time, lots of it, and possibly some water as well. Now after 15 minutes of breathing the nose have become even more "hidden", time to taste. The taste is soft, leathery, creamy, ashes, perfumy, stout, dark chocolate, coffee, bailey's cream, really a dessert malt in my opinion, one to have beside a chocolate tart.

Very good sherried Littlemill once again: 7.5


Littlemill 22yo 1989-2011 52.8% Malts of Scotland cask#2511

Another sherried Littlemill, could I be in for another treat? The color is mustard brown. I'll actually have two different sherried Littlemills from MoS now at the end of this session, lets hope they can keep up the good work even with lesser desired malts. It smells of sweet bell pepper, honey, caramel, paprika, yoghurt, rubbery, cinnamon, orange zest, creamy vanilla, starchy, another good sherried Littlemill it seems. The taste is sweet, cinnamon, orange zest, lime rind, butter, red apples, grassy, much sweeter and gentler on the palate than the former two, maybe a more tired cask. But not any less pleasant. The finish is buttery, onions, red onions, sage, buttery, very nice one.

This just lacks a bit of complexity, but a very nice dram indeed: 6


Littlemill 19yo 1990-2010 54.3% Malts of Scotland cask#915

A younger and higher strength from MoS, this time from a bourbon barrel. I'd thought the hogsheads would be bottled prior to the barrels, but that's just my opinion. The color is golden amber. Bigger cask less color? It smells of butter, fresh baked cupcakes, peat, herbal, grassy, nestles, duck liver, trans fat, frying oil, garlic, getting the sense of being in a street food joint. The taste is sweet, cinnamon, chillies, peppery, spicy, cumin, herbs d provence, oaky, zesty, unripe apples, honey, nectar, apple juice, kiwi, melon, mead, orange liqueur. This is a whisky that lets the spirit speak as much as the oak. Balanced, aren't that what they call it? The finish is peppery, sugary, blackcurrant, red wine, roasted almonds, charcoal, very good whisky. One might say that the hogsheads (I'm assuming) the prior three whiskies has been maturing in gave way to more sweet sherry notes, this one seems to be perfectly balanced.

A shame this distillery won't produce more like this: 8.5

Littlemill of older glory

New flats on what used to be the premises of Littlemill Distillery












Next tasting: Caperdonich Distillery