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Scotland is haunted by ghost distilleries – locations that when produced nice whiskies, leaving solely a restricted variety of casks behind. However inside these casks lie some actually particular liquids. This autumn, we’re shining a light-weight on the story of Littlemill distillery, which closed its doorways for the final time in 1994. Its remaining casks have been blended into two extraordinary collections, providing a singular style of the previous.
Not so removed from Glasgow, the place the River Clyde opens its mouth a bit wider to the estuary, as soon as stood the buildings of Littlemill Distillery. Outdated images present a cluster of low, white-washed buildings with black slated roofs, the floor of the partitions streaked with age; buildings suffused with an air of abandonment.
These photographs are all we now have of them now. Manufacturing stopped in 1994, the distillery was dismantled in 1997, and a hearth destroyed the buildings in 2004. As we speak, a housing improvement stands on the positioning. However I ponder, as you might be drifting off to sleep, in case you can nonetheless hear the roll of the barrels, the clatter of instruments in opposition to the copper pot stills, the thrum of business. If you happen to can nonetheless odor the deep, fruity stench of the brewing barley; in case you can style it within the air.
That is considered one of Scotland’s “ghost distilleries”. Its story dates again to 1772, making it Scotland’s oldest licensed website. The historical past here’s a acquainted one in Scotland, marked by closures and reopenings, altering fingers all through the centuries. However all exercise would ultimately grind to a halt within the Nineteen Nineties, its destiny later secured by the hearth.
Whisky heritage is soaked into the bones of the world – that stretch from Glasgow to Campbeltown, alongside the banks of the Clyde. Throughout the 1800s, Glasgow was thought-about the “second metropolis of the British Empire”, a hub of business and commerce. Blooming round it, the West of Scotland was the guts of Scotch whisky distilling. However as one century gave approach to one other, and the solar started setting on a crumbling empire, that business moved north, into the Highlands and as much as Speyside. In its wake, it left a panorama haunted by ghost distilleries, a path of shelled-out buildings hinting at an industrious previous.
All that is still of Littlemill’s nice legacy are archival information and casks. The final of those casks, acquired in 1994, now sit within the warehouses of Loch Lomond Distillery. They’re valuable issues, the whisky nonetheless alive and respiration within the wooden. And now, they’re safely within the fingers of Grasp Blender Michael Henry, who has been making whisky with Loch Lomond Distillery for the final 17 years.
It should really feel like an immense duty to work with the final remaining casks of a distillery that may by no means return. “There’s an actual mixture of feelings,” says Michael, over a video name. “There’s the romance of working with a ghost distillery – a way that you just’re a part of that historical past – so there’s a sort of unhappiness that that historical past has come to an finish. However it’s additionally a celebration. We’re getting folks to learn about Littlemill, telling its story, sharing its liquid.”
Working with these remaining Littlemill casks, Michael has crafted two new collections: the Cask Reflections Sequence and the Vanguards Assortment. These casks are dealt with with immense delicacy and ability. Such a job requires an intimate data of every cask, how the liquid is displaying at any given time, figuring out the place the stability lies between the spirit character and the wooden affect. How each bit suits throughout the wider puzzle, like a fraction of melody in a broader symphony.
In any case, these liquids are time portals, a few of them made out of whisky that was distilled half a century in the past. Terribly uncommon, they seize a second that may by no means return. Realizing this, it should really feel unusual to drink such a factor. However Michael is unequivocal.
“The factor about any whisky, irrespective of its historical past, is the truth that it’s made for ingesting. It’s made to be tasted and loved. That’s probably the most respectful factor we are able to do – the way in which we are able to pay homage to the distillers.”
Three tasting notes
Cask Reflections Launch No.1 is made out of a cautious collection of 33-year-old casks, completed for 4 months in Japanese Mizunara oak. Mizunara is a floral, fruity and perfumed wooden that’s typically used for furniture-making, with a porous high quality that imparts flavour fairly rapidly, and requires quite a lot of care to handle efficiently.
However the ensuing whisky is one thing particular. It exhibits a aromatic sandalwood character, with a fragile weave of caramel, white flowers, inexperienced apple and freshly minimize grass. Candy, varnished wooden comes via on the palate, with a contact of cloves, heat vanilla and a elevate of citrus.
The Vanguards Assortment – Chapter 1: Robert Muir is made out of liquid that was distilled on eleventh October 1977, telling a narrative of 4 many years spent quietly maturing in American oak. It has since been re-casked and completed in Oloroso Sherry hogsheads, adopted by refill Bourbon.
Splendidly wealthy, it shows notes of salted toffee, chocolate, orange blossom and hazelnut, with a malty cereal character woven via, alongside juicy hints of nectarine and apricot. A chewy raisin-like notice speaks to its time in Oloroso wooden.
The Vanguards Assortment – Chapter 2: Jane Macgregor is called after Scotland’s first feminine licensee; her tenure was recorded at Littlemill in 1823.
This lovely expression is made out of 47-year-old liquid, displaying a clear, surprisingly delicate palate with a light-weight, contemporary physique. On the palate, it provides delicate fruits reminiscent of apple, white pear and a touch of white grape, with an nearly grappa-like high quality.
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