One, from The Whisky Agency, a 20ml sample bought from whiskybase.com, the other, confusingly, a 60ml sample of a Whiskybase release bought from whiskysample.nl.
Littlemill 1989, 24 Year Old, The Whisky Agency 50.4%
Nose: Quite nutty. Almonds - marzipan - at first. Then walnuts and chocolate. Vanilla and banana begin to seep through. With water, stone fruits emerge too.
Palate: A nice enough mouthfeel. Quite boozy up front though, with a hint of fruit lurking beneath.
With water, a little more malt comes through. Water also releases a bit of that hidden fruit - orange, primarily.
Finish: Quite a woody finish, although the addition of water tames the oak somewhat. Decent length, although what fruit there was on the palate has long since gone.
Too woody for me, this one, with the finish leaning towards the astringent side of things. The nose was quite enjoyable though.
Littlemill 1990, 22 Year Old, Whiskybase.com '40,000 Bottles on the Wall' 56%
Nose: Honeyed fruits at first. Almonds, again. Then some chocolate-coated banana and vanilla.
Water brings out coconut, and some sweet fruit wrapped up in quality spices.
Palate: Huge entry, bursting out from the back of the palate. Both silky and oily. There's wood here, but it's kept well in the background initially. Very spicy. There's a fantastic zing and zip on the palate. Later, chocolate malt makes an appearance, coupled with some stone fruit.
Water tames it a fraction, of course, and while it loses some of that excitement, the nice silky feel remains. Those stone fruits develop a fraction and become more prominent. It comes together really well.
Finish: Very long finish, full of coconut, chocolate, fruit and wood.
Water smooths out the bitterness (which, to be honest, is neither distracting nor out of place here) and accentuates the fruit, as it spirals on and on.
This was delicious, plain and simple. A beautiful aged lowlander.
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