This week’s review is of a Littlemill. As I’ve noted before, Littlemill didn’t have the best reputation when it was a going concern. Indeed, when I first started getting interested in malt whisky as something other than an occasional indulgence, the official 12 yo—pretty much all that was easily available then—was one you learned to stay away from (though I didn’t think it was that bad when I finally tried it). As with so many other distilleries though, the distillery’s reputation improved after it closed, when older single casks began to become available from independent bottlers. In the early-mid 2010s, in particular, a number of 20+ yo casks filled in the late 1980s to the early 1990s showed up on the market that put the distillate in a very different, very fruity light. A number of these casks were bottled by Whiskybase under their Archives label. This bourbon cask 23 yo, distilled in 1990 was one of the first (though not, I think, the very first—there was one in the inaugural Archives release as well). As with so many bottles I purchased in those years, I’ve had it sitting on my shelves for a long time now. I’m glad to finally open it and am looking forward to drinking it down over the next few weeks.

Littlemill 23, 1990 (47.8%; Archives; bourbon hogshead #1; from my own bottle)

Nose: Zesty citrus (somewhere between lime and lemon), oak, a bit of white pepper, a leafy note and mild honeyed sweetness to round out the acid. As it sits the citrus expands and picks up muskier notes: makrut lime, pineapple.  With more time still there’s some tart-sweet mango and some copper coins. With water there’s a touch of cream.

Palate: Comes in with the citrus, oak and leaves leading the way, getting a little bitter as I swallow. Good texture and bite at <50%. There’s muskier fruit teasing its presence in the rear but it doesn’t emerge in the early going. Not so much in the middle going either—but the metallic note from the nose picks up. Okay, let’s add a touch of water. Brighter with water and yes, there’s more of the musky fruit now but also a bit of talcum powder; the cream from the nose emerges too now.

Finish: Long. The oak eases into more fruit (the tart-sweet lime and mango) and then comes back again at the end. Water pushes back the oak and pulls out the white pepper and then some milky cocoa.

Comments: This is very nice but not quite as fruity as I’d hoped it would be. But I have a feeling the fruit will emerge as the bottle sits with some air (these notes were taken from the second pour). I will report on developments in the comments.

Rating: 87 points.