Ah, it’s time to revisit the Scottish Distillery Tour that was started several years ago by some friends of mine. The goal was to try a sample from every operational distillery at the time. We accomplished that goal in under 2 years, so my buddy Paul (from Michigan) decided to up the ante by grabbing some ghosted distillery samples to add to our “tasted” list. Hence, this Littlemill 12 year old. This was a Lowland distillery that closed and was subsequently destroyed by a fire. Bottles from this distillery can still be obtained at auction and at some higher end, boutique whisky shops around the world. Prices also tend to be on the higher side- like most ghosted bottles. This one is rich gold/faint amber in color and very watery with large drops and undefined legs in the tasting glass. It’s chill filtered and probably has added coloring while being bottled at 40% (most likely to stretch the dwindling stockpiles). The nose immediately struck me with a whiff of pine cones, but after some time that faded and left behind a nice, deep tropical note. Some milk chocolate, caramel and tea leaves mingled with the fruitiness, but there was a nice, oak barrel backbone holding everything together. The palate felt extremely light, probably due to the ABV more than anything else. Sherry cask notes, chocolate and caramel candies drove home the sweetness up front before allowing an unexpected harshness to crash the party. It didn’t wreck the overall flavor profile so much as it just made the dram seem hotter than 40%. It still felt a little oily and woody on the backend. The finish was medium length, still rather light and warm, though. Oily, sherry cask and tropical fruits lingered for a few moments before a final gasp of heat and peppered oak ended the session. Overall, this was a rather complex dram for a 12 year old that’s bottled at the bare minimum to be called a scotch. I’d be very interested to see if an older sample from Littlemill delivered a bigger experience. I’m scared to look and see what that would cost, as well. Paul paid close to $200 for this bottle so an 18-20 year old would possibly cost well over $500. Hmm, I’d have to pass I think. Thanks again, @Generously_Paul, this is easily a 3.75 star dram, with a little boost because it’s ghosted. Cheers.