Scotland is full of ghosts, and some of them take the form of whiskey distilleries. The term “ghost distillery” is an evocative way of referring to a distillery that has been mothballed, closed, and sometimes completely demolished, but whose whiskey still ages in barrels across the country that other companies or independent bottlers release from time to time. These are often very old and very expensive, like the new Littlemill, 47, called The Vanguards Collection Chapter Two.
Littlemill is known as Scotland’s oldest licensed distillery, having been founded in 1772 by Glaswegian George Buchanan. It has changed hands several times over the centuries, as has many Scotch distilleries, and has been mothballed at different times in its history. But over the years it produced its share of peated and unpeated whisky, before closing for good in 1994. A decade later, in 2004, a fire broke out which destroyed the facilities and they were demolished a year later .
The brand now belongs to the Loch Lomond group, which has released several expressions over the years from distilleries still in aging barrels. The first chapter of the Vanguards collection was released in 2023, a 45-year-old man single malt named after Robert Muir, the employee who received the first distilling license in 1773. It was a 1977 vintage aged for 40 years in refill American oak barrels, then finished for five years in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks. Only 250 bottles of this whiskey were released. Chapter two is titled Jane MacGregor in homage to the first woman to hold a whiskey license at a distillery the size of Littlemill. This is a 47 year old single malt distilled in 1976, aged in bourbon barrels for 20 years then put into American oak barrels for the final 27 years. It was bottled at 44.9% ABV and is said to have notes of crisp green apple and pear, fresh pineapple, grapefruit, lime, honeysuckle and nutmeg on the palate.
Such an old and rare whiskey must be presented in special packaging, and of course that is the case here. The decanter was made by Glencairn Crystal and is housed in an ash wood cabinet with a glass portal and a hand-blown decanter stopper created by British glassmaker Bethany Wood. There is also a miniature 50 ml bottle, which collectors will appreciate: they can taste the whiskey while keeping this expensive version. Only 250 numbered bottles of the new Vanguards Collection Chapter 2 will be released, each priced at £14,500 (approximately $18,800). Interested buyers can visit the Littlemill website to express their interest. There are a range of other releases, including the first Vanguards release, available to purchase now at .
