St. Magdalene 40 Years Old 1982 Cask #2100 (Private Collection)

This St. Magdalene was from the independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail, a 40 year old Lowland malt from 1982, drawn from cask 2100 and bottled at 54.5%. Just 150 bottles were filled. St. Magdalene was founded in 1753 on the Union Canal in West Lothian; closed in the great cull of 1983. After closure the buildings became flats, the pagoda malt barn preserved and listed.

Distilled in coal fired pot stills, the barley floor malted on site, giving the waxy, mineral spirit it is remembered for. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, the classic wood for these casks. Decades leave it deep and oxidative, candied tropical fruit and wax with great depth. A patient maturation suits the oily, waxy St Magdalene character. Linlithgow lies west of Edinburgh, in the old whisky country of West Lothian. St Magdalene took its name from a convent and leper hospital that once stood on the site.

At a hearty 54.5% it carries real weight. The refill oak lending honey and vanilla runs under a waxy, grassy depth with white fruit. It is waxy and deep, the fruit and oil woven in. Beeswax and citrus see out a long finish. This is one of the great ghost whiskies of the Lowlands.