Littlemill 1989 Arc

Overall rating
88.45/100
votes
97
Whiskybase ID
WB25065
Category
Single Malt
Distillery
Bottler
Archives (Arc)
Bottling serie
Inaugural Release
Vintage
05.1989
Bottled
07.2011
Stated Age
22 years old
Casktype
Refill sherry hogshead
Casknumber
RTN-11-238
Number of bottles
120
Strength
48.3 % Vol.
Size
700 ml
Added on
11 sep 2011 1:01 pm
UncoloredNon-chillfilteredCask StrengthSingle Cask Whisky

Average value

€ 463.75

26 × in wishlist

97 × member ratings

61 × in collection

Whisky reviews for Littlemill 1989 Arc

19 users have left 20 reviews for this whisky. Average rating is 88.45 points.

  1. WhiskyNotes scored this whisky 90 points Expert Senior

    This bottle is worth trying or even worth buying for the nose alone (they don't make this profile any more), but on the palate I think it's a little too focused on herbal notes. One of the most unique whiskies I've tried lately and one of the best Littlemills out there.
    • Nose
      Quite unique. It reminds me of old-style Lowlands whisky, like 1960's Saint-Magdalene. Excellent surprise. It's ashy and dusty, with light metallic notes and leather. Subtle fruits in the background (dried apricot, raisins), dried flowers and some almond notes. Lots of oily notes, even some garage smells which remind me of old rums like the Caroni 1974. Impressive references, right?
    • Taste
      Spicy start on wood and eucalyptus, quickly gaining bitterness. Rather grainy with big herbal notes and some resin. Rather peculiar, full-bodied but not entirely my cup of tea. Very interesting though.
    • Finish
      Quite long, again herbal with light oak and over-infused tea.

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  3. wncvirus scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

    Nose: light bourbon aroma, light notes of fresh grass, notes of sweet citrus
    Taste: Mild flavor, pleasantly complex floral, slightly perceptible sour milk aftertaste. slight spiciness in the background with subsequent attempts.
    Rating: 87 | 1000 - Finish with a slightly warming floral and citrus finish

  4. John87 scored this whisky 89 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      88 88
    • Taste
      89 89
    • Finish
      89 89

  5. Deloti scored this whisky 88 points Expert Senior

    Very enjoyable dram. Sherry, honey, resin, oak.

  6. p4blo scored this whisky 90 points Expert Senior

    A very complex Littlemill, a like it a lot.
    • Nose
      Very herbal at first, perfumy, notes of lavender, truffle. Thick old sherry notes, leather, dust, a hint of varnish, some menthol and eucalyptus. Very complex.
    • Taste
      Oily, thick, minty. Old school sherry, truffles, notes of rum. Becomes slightly tannic and bitter, but not in an overwhelming way. Harbal notes are there too.
    • Finish
      Quite short, on candy sweetness countered by black tea, chocolate and espresso.

  7. Willie JJ scored this whisky 82 points Expert Senior

    This is the best Littlemill I can rememberm. A cracking cask
    • Nose
      I've never been much of a fan of Littlemill and this one had the pungency and heat that I expected. It's been a great cask though and this one delivers hot rhubarb and apple pie with floral overtones. Very nice indeed.
    • Taste
      Even more surprising, this is really delicious. Heavily sugared stewed fruits with a mountain of spice that makes it a hugely intense experience. Great.
    • Finish
      Here comes the heat again though. Typical Littlemill with a burst of flame at the end. Some fruit whizzing around but the heat conquers all.

  8. BeatF scored this whisky 88 points Photo Moderator

    Liquid precious metal!
    • Nose
      Light pear at first, then flowers, mint, dried bananas, leather, even a little vanilla Absolutely perfect and with the words above just sketch weak!
    • Taste
      oily and full-bodied
    • Finish
      Wow! Leather, shoe wax, mango, flowers etc.

  9. webdiver scored this whisky 88 points Expert Junior

    • Nose
      90 90
    • Taste
      88 88
    • Finish
      89 89

  10. BenNevis scored this whisky 91 points Expert Senior

    This is more like Macallan than Littlemill. Lots of sherry notes and very smooth. Very enjoyable. One of the best malts I have had for a wile.

  11. peathead scored this whisky 85 points Expert Senior

    It`s a good Littlemill, but not my style.  Thanks for the large sample, RvZ!!  But I don`t think I`ll buy one of these soon.

  12. aby scored this whisky 90 points Connoisseur

    amazing !  i have tasted some Littlemill up to now and scored it never higher than 70 points, this is the exception on the rule. What a great whisky and what a great nose (tobacco, dried fruits, some almonds and oily)

  13. alectron scored this whisky 89 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      more oak than cereal here but in nice balance, somewhat musty/dusty this time around, dry black tea, raw tobacco, also some distant dried fruits, (88)
      A bit later: still quite oaky, but more vanilla now, also some red fruits/berries now,  nicely balanced with the wood. (89)
    • Taste
      quite oaky at the start again, wet oak at that, a quick attack of spices, herbs & tobacco underneath the oak, somewhat resin-ous, heather, (86)
    • Finish
      then berry tea, honey, even with a touch of beeswax, nicely mellowing out with a few blackcurrant notes inbetween the very pleasant wood. Turning dry/bitter & slightly waxern/oily at the same time at the end. Interesting! (90)
      Later: turns sweeter, less woody & bitter, dried mango, white chocolate comes through as well but also looses some of the savoury notes (91)

  14. markjedi1 scored this whisky 89 points Connoisseur

    Ah, this is a
    wonderful bottle for the nose alone. I enjoyed it for twenty intense minutes.
    It does not quite deliver on the palate, making him dive below 90 points. All
    in all, this is an amazing whisky. A very special Littlemill that feels a lot
    older than its true age.
    • Nose
      Oh my god! This is
      Littlemill? It has nothing in
      common with the sympathetic Lowlander I am used to. I take a second look at the
      label. It says 1989. I thought it would say 1969. The nose contains dark,
      stewed and dried fruit, especially apricots and mango with a couple of mint
      leafs. But what makes this so special is that it contains an extraordinary mix
      of old leather, almond paste, tobacco and mould. I can see myself sitting in a
      dusty attic with a cigar between the lips and a box of raisins in the other,
      while arranging some dried flowers! A complex, (apparently) old Littlemill. Out
      of this world!
    • Taste
      (after twenty
      minutes, I kid you not)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

      The attack is very
      creamy, spicy and sweet, but soon turns bitter. Resin, oak, black tea. The
      fruit from the nose hardly gets a chance to show itself. The wood talks too
      loud. Unfortunately (for me, anyway), it goes over the top.
    • Finish
      The finish makes
      amends, though, through length and intensity. The bitterness does not bother
      here, because it fades softly. At the death: orange zest with a sugared lining.

  15. Lafroy scored this whisky 90 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      91 91
    • Taste
      90 90
    • Finish
      90 90

  16. Lafroy scored this whisky 90 points Expert Senior

    I`ve never been enthusiastic about Lowland distilleries and the products they make. As a matter of fact I rather avoided them. This Littlemill is definitely the first Lowland that impressed me and proved that Lowland could be good. This one is very good. After having the first dram I can tell it definitely deserves 90+.

  17. Bachess scored this whisky 92 points Administrator

    Sorry Gunnie, as a Littlemill expert I can say the Archives is slightly better

  18. gunnie76 scored this whisky 89 points Expert Senior

    Serge rated this one so good with reason. It is good! The MoS for Fulldram is better isn`t it Menno?

  19. TheNose scored this whisky 88 points Expert Senior

    Nice full bodied lowlander.

    Nose: dried fruits, cereals, varnish, marzipan

    Taste: spicy, slightly bitter, sweet, grainy

    Finish: slightly bitter, resembles an old grain whisky

  20. djoskar did not rate this whisky Member Senior

    Indeed very original ... with a note of cummin in the mouth

  21. I_SPEY scored this whisky 90 points Expert Senior

    Delicious and very special: smooth and oilyish, and a light, bitter bite! Distinctive and striking So....no hesitating!

    02/02/12: since monday, January the 30st, some more notes: the first thing I smelled is ash, pure ash, afterwards fruits, like banana`s, wood and paint! In the excellent taste I, as well as another taster at our table, discovers rum(sweet), a delicious smooth and very light smoke and some herbal notes. The finish is medium to long, but for me,it could have been longer!

    Thanks CJ and Menno!

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