Littlemill (dismantled 1997)

Bought: Robbie’s Drams, 4^th November 2015

Ratings:
88.25/100 – Whiskybase (average from 10 member votes)

Only 820 bottles of this Littlemill were produced by Hart Brothers to commemorate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April 2011. It’s presented in a box, which is so pathetic it feels like it’s made from balsa wood. It’s lined with something resembling satin but there’s no padding behind it so the bottle can freely rattle about inside when transported. Bubble wrap required!

I’ve noticed over the years that there are a lot of bad examples of Littlemill whisky floating about on the market so it’s important to do some research before buying. Nevertheless even bad whisky can do well as an investment if it’s from a closed distillery and Littlemill stopped production in 1994, was dismantled in 1997 and destroyed in a fire in 2004. Thankfully my 20yo scores a brilliant mark of 88.25/100 on Whiskybase from 10 member votes. A similar 20yo by Hart Brothers bottled in 2012 scores 88.5/100 in the Whisky Bible 2013 so I’m confident that my dram is a good one. Clearly the independent bottlers Hart Brothers know a good Littlemill when they taste it!

Littlemill 20yo Royal Wedding 70cl

Bought – Lincoln Whisky Shop, 4^th March 2014

Ratings:
69/100 – Malt Maniacs (average from 4 reviewers)
75.67/100 – Whiskybase (average from 5 member votes)

I want to start by thanking the independent bottler ‘Lady of the Glen’ for sending me a sample of their latest bottling, a 21-year-old Littlemill. The day after it arrived in the post I was contacted by Lincoln Whisky Shop about an order I tried to place with them 5 months ago. Yes, 5 months later and they got in touch. Unbelievable! But they had the 3 miniature bottles of Littlemill 12-year-old I’d been after and at £4.50 each I had to say yes. Now I’ve gone from having no Littlemill to swimming in the stuff!

Reading the history of the Littlemill distillery, it seems sad that it’s dead and buried. A lowland (just) distillery with a strong claim as one of the oldest licensed distilleries in the world. Like Auchentoshan, it has the lowland trait of being triple distilled but I keep reading about an oily character to the taste that seems common in whiskies from this area of Scotland. Perhaps something you’ll either love or hate but, having been dismantled in 1997 and burnt down in 2004, examples of this malt are getting scarce. If you can find a bottle, it’s worth buying and trying.

The scores from Malt Maniacs and Whiskybase aren’t great but, having now tried one of these miniatures, I’d say they were fair. It’s a very forgettable whisky. In fact I’ve forgotten it already!