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Whisky Review: Littlemill 40-Year-Old Celestial Edition

We review Littlemill 40-Year-Old Celestial Edition, a single malt from a long-closed, Scottish Lowland distillery. Just 250 bottles were made, and they're priced at £6,000.

OVERALL RATING

9
  • Margarett Waterbury is a whiskey enthusiast and industry expert.
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Littlemill 40 Year Old Celestial Edition

Tasting Notes

About:

40 years old, single malt, 48.6% ABV, £6,000 MSRP.
Appearance:
Clear, pale, warm amber
Nose:
First impressions are sweet and earthy, with an unusual meaty undertone that’s almost a note of decay—forest floor, leaf litter, heady white truffle. Dates, raisins, and dried figs are abundant, as are red currant and dried rose petal. More fruit takes a little hunting for, but it’s there—green apple, stewed pear—plus star anise, cinnamon, Brazil nut, and hazelnut oil. A flash of struck match hints at the sherry cask finishing.
Palate:
Contiguous with the nose. There’s cooked fruit, gentle spices, and plenty of dried fruits and nuts along with a more unusual savory component—fruity Kalamata olives? The finish is dry and leathery, with plenty of oak spice and sandalwood, although white peach, nectarine, and currant occasionally rise to the surface like the silvery flash of a trout’s underbelly in a stream.
Finish:
Comments:
Beautiful evolved, and elegant—much as every 40-year-old hopes to be described, human or whisky alike. This is a lovely whisky, and purchasers will surely enjoy their 5cl sampling before hiding the bottle away on the highest shelf and calling their insurance provider to update their policies.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Margarett Waterbury

Margarett Waterbury is the author of "Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland's Whiskies" and a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the beverage industry. Her work has graced the pages of numerous publications, including Whisky Advocate, Food and Wine, Spirited Magazine, Artisan Spirit, Edible Seattle, Sip Northwest, Civil Eats, Travel Oregon, and many others. She also boasts editorial experience as the former managing editor of Edible Portland and as a co-founder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash. In recognition of her talent, Margarett received the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award in 2017 and was awarded fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019.

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