Littlemill 1988/2014 The Pearls of Scotland (Gordon & Company)
It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a Littlemill on this blog, so I thought it was time to go through my stash of samples to find one from this closed Lowland distillery. I came up with a gem from independent bottler Gordon & Company. They’ve been around for a couple of years now, and have released around a dozen different single casks from Littlemill. Impressive!
A little over two years ago I compared Littlemill to Port Ellen. Now obviously Littlemill hasn’t reached the heights of Port Ellen (and most likely never will), but prices have soared. After a burst of releases in 2013 and 2014, the well seems to be drying up a bit. I wonder how many casks of Littlemill are still out there?
Littlemill 1988/2014 (43,5%, Gordon & Company ‘The Pearls of Scotland’, C#134)
Nose: A trademark fruity Littlemill. Grapefruit, peach, freshly squeezed oranges and pickled lemon. But also hints of vanilla, cookie dough, nougat, wood shavings and damp cardboard. Delicate and complex. Awesome stuff.
Taste: A nice oily, buttery mouthfeel. A quick hit of chili pepper and pickled ginger, followed by a burst of pink grapefruit. It mellows out, with banana and pineapple.
Finish: Long with a fruity sweetness.
Rating: 90
Another excellent Littlemill. It’s obviously not the case with every whisky, but with Littlemill I really do feel like the older, the better. Originally around 110 euro, now probably three times that (if you can find it).
Thank you Arjen, for sharing this sample.
Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.
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