Linlithgow 1975 MC (Scotch Single Malt Circle)

Scotch Single Malt Circle selected this Linlithgow matured to 26 year old from 1975, drawn from cask 96/3/15 and bottled at 50.2%. The lost Lowland distillery Linlithgow, first founded as the Linlithgow distillery in 1753 in West Lothian, west of Edinburgh, was mothballed for good in 1983. It is bottled under both its names, St Magdalene and Linlithgow.

It was worked through an unusual set of five stills, floor malted on site, for the oily, grassy style that set it apart from other Lowlanders. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, lending honey and vanilla under the grass. Long ageing brings an oily depth, tropical fruit and a mellow, waxy character. The closed era spirit is fixed now, its character set by the casks laid down before 1983. Floor maltings worked on site until 1968, the spirit run from five coal fired stills. It is among the most lamented of all Scotland's lost Lowland distilleries.

At 50.2%, undiluted, it is deep and waxy. Grass, lemon and a waxy weight sit alongside a quiet vanilla from the refill oak. It is mineral and elegant, the grassy spirit shining through. The close is slow, grass over soft oak. This is a collectable relic of a cult lost distillery.