Littlemill 21 (The Whiskyman)

Another release in the recent Age Matters series from The Whiskyman is this Littlemill 1992.

Recently prices of Littlemill have taken quite a hike. It’s not totally surprising: this Lowlands distillery has been dismantled since 1997 and the remnants were destroyed in 2004. Stocks are low, and for most bottlers, Littlemill now seems part of the great lost distilleries that will soon become unavailable.

Duncan Taylor recently bottled a 1990 single cask #3045 – it comes in a fancy box and costs € 275. That’s crazy, but it indicates the mindset of bottlers towards this distillery and probably also the lowering amount of casks in stock. After all the recent official 21yo was also quite expensive. Now is the time to stock up on affordable Littlemill if you haven’t done so already.

Littlemill 21 yo 1992 (50,2%, The Whiskyman ‘Age Matters’ 2013)

Nose: the typical profile of Littlemill, with plenty of fruits. A little less citrusy this time, more melons, strawberry marshmallows and candied apple. Big vanilla. A little almond oil. Hints of coconut as well, which fades into waxy notes, even notes of Barbour fat.

Mouth: oily, again a slightly sweeter attack with more vanilla than usual. After that, plenty of grapefruit, green banana, oranges and apricots. Slightly grassy notes, with firm oaky notes. Cinnamon and ginger. Becomes fairly herbal and zesty. All this covered in a certain old-style waxiness.

Finish: long, half waxy, half zesty, half herbal. That’s three halves.

Again: now is the time to stock up on Littlemills that are still affordable. I personally prefer the sherried ones but bourbon versions like this one are more typical and all good. Around € 125.

Score: 88/100