St. Magdalene 35 Years Old 1975 Rare Old (G&M)

Gordon & MacPhail selected this St. Magdalene, a 35 year old Lowland malt from 1975 and bottled at 43%. St. Magdalene was founded around 1753 by Sebastian Henderson between the canal and the railway; silenced in 1983. Its Rare Malt bottlings are seized upon by collectors.

The spirit was run through the distillery's five stills, two wash and three spirit, to build an oily, individual make that blurs Lowland and Highland lines. Maturation in Oloroso sherry laid dried fruit over the waxy malt. Very old St Magdalene turns profound, oily and tropical yet still grassy and individual. Long maturation turns the grassy new make towards honey and soft tropical fruit. The pagoda topped malt barn survives as a listed building above the new apartments. There were no official bottlings in its lifetime; its fame came with Diageo's Rare Malts.

At 43% it is smooth and waxy. The Oloroso brings dried fruit, fig and a nutty depth, and grass, lemon and a waxy weight sit alongside soft vanilla and honey from the cask. It is mineral and elegant, the grassy spirit shining through. Lemon, wax and oak draw out the close. This is a rare survivor of the 1983 cull.