St. Magdalene 19 Years Old 1982 Rare Old (G&M)

Single malt St. Magdalene, an independent Gordon & MacPhail bottling, a 19 year old release from 1982 and bottled at 40%. St. Magdalene was established in the mid 18th century on the site of a former convent, and shut by DCL in 1983. It is bottled under both its names, St Magdalene and Linlithgow.

It was drawn off coal fired stills fed by an on site artesian well, for a waxy, grassy spirit with sharp white fruit. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the wax. Past twenty years the malt gains a waxy weight over its grassy, oily base. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the waxy, mineral core over decades. Closed in the great cull of 1983, it never reopened, the buildings becoming flats. 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 an easy 40% it is gentle. A gentle vanilla from the wood, with a mineral, oily character with sharp fruit. The texture is oily and coating, the wax threaded through. A long, honeyed finish carries a grassy note. This is a vanishing dram from Linlithgow's silent distillery.