St. Magdalene 18 Years Old 1964 (Connoisseurs Choice)

Gordon & MacPhail selected this St. Magdalene, an 18 year old from 1964 and bottled at 40%. St. Magdalene was first founded as the Linlithgow distillery in 1753 in West Lothian, west of Edinburgh, and mothballed for good in 1983. Originally the Linlithgow distillery, it took the name St Magdalene from a convent that once stood on the site.

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. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the distillery character to the fore. By this age the waxy, mineral character rounds into honey and orchard fruit. The closed era spirit is fixed now, its character set by the casks laid down before 1983. Closed era stock like this is finite, every bottle one fewer left. Linlithgow lies west of Edinburgh, in the old whisky country of West Lothian.

At 40% it is smooth 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. It closes long, waxy and grassy. This is a finite pour from a lamented lost Lowland distillery.