Linlithgow 1982 MM Mission Gold (Murray McDavid)

Single malt Linlithgow, an independent Murray McDavid bottling, a 25 year old Lowland malt from 1982 and bottled at 51.4%. The outturn was 1800 bottles. Linlithgow was built in 1753 in West Lothian's county town; brought to a halt in 1983. There were no official bottlings in its lifetime; fame came with Diageo's Rare Malts.

The spirit was made in floor malted, coal fired pot stills in the old way, for an elegant, waxy make quite its own. An ex-Bourbon cask and a Cognac influence shaped it, adding grape and a floral note. At this age it is deep and elegant, tropical fruit and mineral wax folded into the spirit. Years in oak build a waxy weight over the mineral, grassy distillate. Run by the Dawson family for much of the 19th century, it passed to DCL in 1912. Tasters often liken its waxy, mineral edge to a fine Riesling.

Bottled at a cask strength 51.4%, it is rich. The Cognac lends grape, dried fruit and a floral note, and vanilla and a light cream from the barrel, with a mineral, oily character with sharp fruit. The texture is oily and coating, the wax threaded through. Beeswax and citrus see out a long finish. This is one of the great ghost whiskies of the Lowlands.