I returned to whisky reviewing last week with a 2012 release from Whiskybase under their Archives label: this Caol Ila 30, 1982. Here now is a review of another Archives release, this one a little younger and bottled a couple of years later.

As I’ve noted before, the long-defunct Littlemill distillery did not have a very strong reputation—putting it mildly—when it was active. However, casks of spirit distilled there in the late 1980s and early 1990s and allowed by the vagaries of business history to mature longer than was probably ever intended quickly developed a reputation for fruity excellence when parcels began to be released by various independent bottlers in the early-mid 2010s. Whiskybase’s Archives releases of some of these casks played no small role in the rehabilitation of the distillery’s reputation after its demise. I’ve reviewed some of these before as I have some from other bottlers. Just last year I reviewed a Littlemill 24, 1989 from Archives and a Littlemill 22, 1989 from Glen Fahrn. Both were excellent, especially the 22 yo. Will this 25 yo distilled in 1988 be as good? Let’s see.

Littlemill 25, 1988 (51.9%; hogshead #12; Archives; from my own bottle)

Nose: Citrus (makrut lime peel, grapefruit) mixed in with salt, white pepper and wet limestone. The salt expands on the second sniff but the fruit’s not far behind. A few drops of water push the salt back and pull more of the fruit out, along with some floral notes.

Palate: The fruit is a little sweeter here but it’s otherwise as indicated by the nose. A bigger bite than I expected at 51.9% but that might be enhanced by the salt and acid. The fruit expands as it sits and there’s a touch of tannic oak as well. Water pushes the oak back and emphasizes the fruit further.

Finish: Medium. Nothing new here and the fruit fades quite quickly leaving the salt and the oak to have the last word. Fruitier here too with time and water.

Comments: This is not quite as fruity as either of the two Littlemills I reviewed last year. Hopefully, that quality will expand as the bottle stays open. I don’t mean to give the impression, however, that it will be an ordeal to drink this if it doesn’t get fruitier: it’s very good as it is.

Rating: 87 points.