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 really 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 novel style of the previous.
Not so removed from Glasgow, the place the River Clyde opens its mouth slightly wider to the estuary, as soon as stood the buildings of Littlemill Distillery. Previous 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 images are all we’ve of them now. Manufacturing stopped in 1994, the distillery was dismantled in 1997, and a fireplace destroyed the buildings in 2004. In the present day, a housing growth stands on the positioning. However I’m wondering, as you’re drifting off to sleep, should you can nonetheless hear the roll of the barrels, the clatter of instruments towards the copper pot stills, the thrum of trade. Should you can nonetheless scent the deep, fruity stench of the brewing barley; should you can style it within the air.
That is one among Scotland’s “ghost distilleries”. Its story dates again to 1772, making it Scotland’s oldest licensed web site. The historical past here’s a acquainted one in Scotland, marked by closures and reopenings, altering arms all through the centuries. However all exercise would ultimately grind to a halt within the 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. In the course of the 1800s, Glasgow was thought of the “second metropolis of the British Empire”, a hub of trade and commerce. Blooming round it, the West of Scotland was the guts of Scotch whisky distilling. However as one century gave strategy to one other, and the solar started setting on a crumbling empire, that trade 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 data and casks. The final of those casks, acquired in 1994, now sit within the warehouses of Loch Lomond Distillery. They’re treasured issues, the whisky nonetheless alive and respiration within the wooden. And now, they’re safely within the arms 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 can 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 form of unhappiness that that historical past has come to an finish. But it surely’s additionally a celebration. We’re getting individuals 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 information of every cask, how the liquid is exhibiting at any given time, understanding the place the steadiness lies between the spirit character and the wooden affect. How each bit suits inside the wider puzzle, like a fraction of melody in a broader symphony.
In any case, these liquids are time portals, a few of them comprised of whisky that was distilled half a century in the past. Terribly uncommon, they seize a second that can by no means return. Understanding 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 essentially the most respectful factor we are able to do – the best way we are able to pay homage to the distillers.”
Three tasting notes
Cask Reflections Launch No.1 is comprised of a cautious number of 33-year-old casks, completed for 4 months in Japanese Mizunara oak. Mizunara is a floral, fruity and perfumed wooden that’s usually used for furniture-making, with a porous high quality that imparts flavour fairly shortly, and requires quite a lot of care to handle efficiently.
However the ensuing whisky is one thing particular. It reveals a aromatic sandalwood character, with a fragile weave of caramel, white flowers, inexperienced apple and freshly reduce grass. Candy, varnished wooden comes by means of on the palate, with a contact of cloves, heat vanilla and a elevate of citrus.
The Vanguards Assortment – Chapter 1: Robert Muir is comprised 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 by means of, alongside juicy hints of nectarine and apricot. A chewy raisin-like word 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 stunning expression is comprised of 47-year-old liquid, exhibiting a clear, surprisingly delicate palate with a light-weight, contemporary physique. On the palate, it presents delicate fruits comparable to apple, white pear and a touch of white grape, with an virtually grappa-like high quality.
