Campbelltown vs Lowlands: Longrow 21 yo and Springbank 21 yo (bottled 1998) vs Littlemill WB cask #34 and Littlemill 1989 TWA

The age is more or less the same, all 4 samples are quite rare and hopefully tasty, so let the regions battle begin...

Battlefield:

Longrow 21 yo (bottled 2016) 46% - bottled for Springbank Open Day 2016, matured in refill bourbon barrels, 230 bottles released. 

Nose: smo-o-oke on the water :) Green fresh vegetables, with water becomes sweet and floral. 

Taste: quite powerful, lots of smoke, salt and seeweed, is that Lagavulin?.. Later on lovely sweet barley appears. 

Finish: long and salty.

Overall: well, this one is quite close to Islay, clean and pure with floral and vegetal accents. 

Score = 22 23 22 22, 89/100!

Springbank 21 yo 46% - bottled in 1998 according to WB, 2400 bottles released. 

Nose: wow, that's what I call a NOSE. Array of tropical fruits, wild honey, some gentle smoke, pickled cucumbers, damp earth, mango, bananas, chocolate, sea air, wet leather - the whole is stunningly complex and perfectly balanced. 

Taste: fruity, oily, waxy, liquid honey and spices. 

Finish: long, fruity and creamy, dried apricots and raisins at the end.

Overall: simply one of the best malts I've tried this year. 

Score = 24 23 23.5 23.5, 94/100!

Littlemill 22 yo 1990/2013 Whiskybase cask #34 56.0% - celebration of 40 000 bottles on the Whiskybase wall, 322 bottles released. 

Nose: wet grass, oils, citrus fruits, vanilla and grains after a while. Some water helps, the strength is quite high. 

Taste: fruit salad consisting of peaches, apricots, oranges and limes with soft spices on top. 

Finish: long, fruity and grassy, second wave of nuts and spices makes the show. 

Overall: nice Littlemill, though I'd call it a bit rough. Perhaps it needs time in open bottle, water is a must. 

Score = 22 22 23 22, 89/100!

Littlemill 24 yo 1989/2014 The Whisky Agency 50.4% - matured in refill hogshead, 212 bottles released.

Nose: more elegant and delicate comparing to the previous sample, dried grass, peaches, oranges, bananas and pineapples, hint of barley but not so evident as in the WB. 

Taste: sweet, grassy and spicy. 

Finish: long, creamy and grassy, nuts and oils come with the 2-nd wave. 

Overall: it's quite similar to Littlemill 1989/2014 TWA Liquid Library 48.7% we've had in May, both are just great especially for those who like this style (I do). 

Score = 23 22 23 23, 91/100!