Just two or three Littlemill


November 30, 2023

Just two or three Littlemill

It seems that independent bottlers have been offering us marvellous Littlemills distilled around the turn of the 1990s for several years now, whereas previously, the reputation of this very, very old distillery had been, let's say, more hit-and-miss. Littlemill was dismantled in 1997 and the remaining buildings were destroyed by fire in 2004. I still remember the bottles we used to find in our supermarkets here in France; they were rather 'low shelf' offerings. While we had indeed tasted its version called 'Dunglas/Dunglass' in the past, their other variant, the peated Dumbuck, has unfortunately never crossed our path. A young aperitif, if you please…

A 2 litre bottle of Dunglass for Italy, 1970s. Not too bad (WF 72 in 2004).

Littlemill 12 yo 1990/2002 (43%, Signatory Vintage, cask #2964, 436 bottles)

These young Littlemill whiskies didn't have a very high reputation... The same was true for their cousins Glen Scotia and Loch Lomond, but fortunately, times have changed... Colour: white wine. Nose: Ah, I remember. Initially, it's quite enticing, with notes of soot, candied turnips, mushy peas, boiled salsify, as well as an ultra-fermentative side, like boiled milk, aubergines, and soaked newspapers... Some aspects are really nice, others less so, but it'll all come down to the palate… Mouth: It starts with lemon Schweppes, and I've nothing against lemon Schweppes, but then it moves on to carbon paper, burnt plastic, modelling clay with tenfold intensity, cod liver oil… I think we'll stop there. Finish: Quite a long and very challenging finish. Notes of burnt cardboard, with a plasticky smoke aspect... Comments: typical of this style, and I've always been amazed that the current batches of these vintages are so splendid at 30 years of age. There must have been miracles. In any case, the independent bottlers are not to be blamed; wasn't their mission to offer the full variety of Scottish malts? Moreover, these bottles were really not expensive. 70 points for the nose, 10 points for the palate.
SGP:172 - 40 points.

Littlemill 23 yo 1992/2015 (57%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, for Charles Hofer Switzerland, cask #506)

Already part of the better series, for some reason. Colour: straw. Nose: ah indeed, this one has much more of an herbal tea character, with chamomile, dandelion flower, jasmine, peach, as well as exotic fruits, passion fruit, pink grapefruit... This is a Littlemill as we like them, with that slight Irish twist. With water: even more of a herbal tea essence, lotus, jasmine, green tea, with a hint of lavender... Mouth (neat): very fruity, as expected, with lemon and grapefruit at the start, followed by not completely ripe gooseberry and kiwi. A herbaceous aspect, with bison grass, hay... With water: excellent, fresh, deliciously fruity, with a return of barley in the background. Very fruity barley indeed! Finish: of medium length, reminiscent of lemon or rhubarb tart. I know, they are quite different, but you see what I mean. Comments: Honestly, we were very surprised when these hyper-fruity batches started coming out about a decade ago. They are quite irresistible, it must be said.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Littlemill 30 yo 1989/2023 (53.1%, La Maison du Whisky, Artist, Spirits Shop Selection, New Vibrations, hogshead, cask #29, 238 bottles)

In fact, it's 'over 30 years old'; this very artistic range never bothers with overly precise age statements, the figures are always rounded. Downwards, of course. Colour: straw. Nose: well, we find that slightly cardboardy aspect that we had in the first Signatory, except that here the citrus and mangoes do their job and the whole seems to be quite sublime. Exceptional notes of white Graves wine, it particularly reminds me of the Laville Haut-Brion that our friend Christophe is so fond of. For the record, the chateau actually became Mission Haut-Brion Blanc starting from 2009. Superb notes of honeysuckle. With water: woollens, brioche dough, candied lemon… Mouth (neat): truly magnificent. Age has given it a bit of richness (as it has to some good friends too, ha-ha) but the citrus notes continue to soar towards the stars. It's really superb. A few small hints of ham and coffee, as well as a tiny drop of genuine Val-de-Travers absinthe, or from elsewhere. With water: an abundance of floral teas, and still the most wonderful blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. And fresh barley, of course. Finish: Not extremely long-lasting, but the tartness of the citrus lingers with green apple. That always works. A bit of fresh blackcurrant in the aftertaste, and why not some Aligoté to make a real kir. Comments: blindfolded, one would really not imagine that this Lowlander with its freshness and fruit is 33 or 34 years old. Sorry, 30 years old. To think that this sublime Littlemill comes, I believe, from Signatory Vintage, like the first Littlemill we tasted today. Just goes to show... (goes to show what, S.?)
SGP:651 - 91 points.

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