Littlemill 12 Year

Stop number 110 on the SDT is Littlemill. This Lowland distillery claimed to be Scotland's oldest officially licensed distillery, founded in 1772. It ceased operations in 1997, and the site was demolished and burned in 2004. I acquired this 12-year-old single malt official bottling at auction. While unsure of original retail pricing, I paid over $170 to win it. Yes, acquiring these pieces of liquid history comes at a premium. But I'm getting sidetracked. Bottled at 40% ABV, chill-filtered, and likely with a significant amount of coloring added, giving it an amber honey hue. The initial aroma was quite musty, reminiscent of old cardboard in a damp basement. Very malty and yeasty, with a spirit presence. Honey, a hint of lemon, and slightly buttery. After resting, it becomes intensely tropical. Apricots, abundant coconut, plums, pineapple, dried strawberries, and bananas. Pipe tobacco, oak, herbal notes like chamomile, and grassy undertones. Hazelnut, pecans, Nutella, and almond butter. Baked apples, a very subtle wood spice, and vanilla. The palate is initially very light and soft, then transitions to being very fruity. Canned peaches and apricots, cantaloupe, pineapple, oranges, and coconut. Very tropical. Vanilla cream, honey, occasionally a bit tannic, with a spice that intensifies with drinking but never becomes overwhelming. Dried strawberries, caramel, butterscotch, Earl Grey tea, and pecans. While pleasant, there's an artificial quality, as if everything is suspended in canning syrup. A light to medium body that feels oily/syrupy, mouthwatering, then drying. A medium-short finish with honey, oak, vanilla, pineapple, mango, and Earl Grey tea. As I've noted before, forming an opinion based on a 1-2oz sample is a flawed review method (though exceptions exist for exceptionally good/bad drams), and this bottle exemplifies that. My first tasting left me finding this whisky quite peculiar and confusing, but after several sessions, it became coherent and made sense. This scotch is incredibly easy to drink, and it's a shame it's no longer widely available. Will it astound you? No, but it is quite solid. Is it worth $170? No, but I'm pleased I purchased it and, more importantly, shared it. Whiskies from closed distilleries are always interesting. At times, this was a 4-star dram, but at others, closer to a 3. Overall, I rate it 3.75. Cheers

Ah, it's time to revisit the Scottish Distillery Tour that was started several years ago by some friends of mine. The goal was to try a sample from every operational distillery at the time. We accomplished that goal in under 2 years, so my buddy Paul decided to up the ante by grabbing some ghosted distillery samples to add to our “tasted” list. Hence, this Littlemill 12 year old. This was a Lowland distillery that closed and was subsequently destroyed by a fire. Bottles from this distillery can still be obtained at auction and at some higher end, boutique whisky shops around the world. Prices also tend to be on the higher side- like most ghosted bottles. This one is rich gold/faint amber in color and very watery with large drops and undefined legs in the tasting glass. It’s chill filtered and probably has added coloring while being bottled at 40% (most likely to stretch the dwindling stockpiles). The nose immediately struck me with a whiff of pine cones, but after some time that faded and left behind a nice, deep tropical note. Some milk chocolate, caramel and tea leaves mingled with the fruitiness, but there was a nice, oak barrel backbone holding everything together. The palate felt extremely light, probably due to the ABV more than anything else. Sherry cask notes, chocolate and caramel candies drove home the sweetness up front before allowing an unexpected harshness to crash the party. It didn’t wreck the overall flavor profile so much as it just made the dram seem hotter than 40%. It still felt a little oily and woody on the backend. The finish was medium length, still rather light and warm, though. Oily, sherry cask and tropical fruits lingered for a few moments before a final gasp of heat and peppered oak ended the session. Overall, this was a rather complex dram for a 12 year old that’s bottled at the bare minimum to be called a scotch. I’d be very interested to see if an older sample from Littlemill delivered a bigger experience. I’m scared to look and see what that would cost, as well. Paul paid close to $200 for this bottle so an 18-20 year old would possibly cost well over $500. Hmm, I’d have to pass I think. Thanks again, this is easily a 3.75 star dram, with a little boost because it’s ghosted. Cheers.

I obtained this sample from a collection shared by the SDT sampling group, courtesy of a friend. It's rare to have the opportunity to taste spirits from distilleries that no longer exist. There's a pleasant honey sweetness accompanied by an earthy dampness, much like wet hay in a rural barn on a rainy September afternoon. Other supporting scents include lemon zest, uncooked, yeasty sourdough bread, and tropical fruits. Toasted coconut, dried pineapple, and apricots also appear. A small amount of vanilla, hazelnut, and oak sawdust emerge after a considerable time. It offers a delicate balance of sweet and spice within a light, smooth, and slick body. Flavors include cream soda, honey, butterscotch, and those tropical notes detected in the aroma: toasted coconut, dried pineapple, and apricots. The spices of ginger and white pepper gently interact with the sweetness, never dominating or intensifying. Similar to the sweetness, the spice remains consistent. As it progresses towards the finish, it develops a slightly metallic quality with a hint of nuttiness. The finish is brief, featuring honey, tea, oak, and vanilla with an earthy character. A delightful, complex nose with a soft palate. This is an incredibly easy spirit to sip. It possesses a lightness and sweetness comparable to a Japanese whiskey, such as Hibiki. If one were searching for a summer sipper, this would certainly be a contender. My thanks again to my friend for sharing this piece of history. [87/100] [Tasted: 11/23/19]