Linlithgow 1975 MM Mission Selection Number Four (Murray McDavid)

From Murray McDavid comes this Linlithgow, aged 29 year old from 1975 and bottled at 46%. Just 600 bottles were filled. Linlithgow, also bottled as St. Magdalene, was dating to 1753 in the old whisky country west of Edinburgh and closed in 1983 after some two centuries. After closure the buildings became flats, the pagoda malt barn preserved and listed.

Distilled on artesian well water in old fashioned coal fired stills, building the distinctive oily character it is loved for. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the wax. Beyond twenty five years the malt grows waxy and tropical, beeswax and candied fruit over an oily base. Cool warehousing gives a slow, even maturation true to the Lowland style. Its oily, grassy character set it apart from the lighter, more floral Lowland malts. The distillery is bottled under both its names, St Magdalene and Linlithgow.

At 46% it is supple and waxy. Green apple, citrus and an oily wax meet honeyed oak sweetness underneath. Beneath it run lemon, grass and a waxy weight. A waxy, white fruit finish lingers long. This is a revered Lowland malt from a distillery silent since 1983.