A trio of Littlemill expressions was added to the Archives series in a very short timespan. This Littlemill 1989 is a joint bottling with The CasQueteers, a Dutch group of whisky enthusiasts constantly looking for the best casks (or parts of casks). They regularly sit together to try cask samples, they also buy new make spirit and split the costs when a certain whisky is bottled.
Littlemill 24 yo 1989 (53%, Archives 2014, joint bottling with CasQueteers, bourbon hogshead #42, 178 btl.)
Littlemill 24 yo 1989 (53%, Archives 2014, joint bottling with CasQueteers, bourbon hogshead #42, 178 btl.)Nose: typical Littlemill fruitiness. Peach, pear, liters of apple juice. Moving towards tropical fruits as well. The usual grassy / mineral side seems a bit more gentle here. Vanilla and buttercups. Hints of beeswax. All the ingredients for a lovely bourbon-aged Littlemill, I’d say.
Mouth: utterly fruity again, with more exquisite tropical notes. Tangerines, mango and passion fruits. Some sweet almond cake and honey. Beautifully juicy, and the waxy notes blend in nicely. Subtle citrus tea, dusty grains and white pepper towards the end.
Finish: long, with a little more typical Lowlands grassiness, grapefruit and mint.
Excellent Littlemill, probably the best of the new Archives trio. Well done for both Whiskybase and the CasQueteers. Around € 130, but sadly sold out as far as I can tell.
Score: 91/100