St. Magdalene 26 Years Old 1982 Cask #2219 (Ian Macleod) (55%)

Ian Macleod bottled this St. Magdalene single malt, a 26 year old Lowland malt from 1982, drawn from cask 2219 and bottled at 55%. A release of 348 bottles. St. Magdalene was first founded as the Linlithgow distillery in 1753 in West Lothian, west of Edinburgh; 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. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light honeyed sweetness. At this age it is deep and elegant, tropical fruit and mineral wax folded into the spirit. Decades in oak round the spirit while keeping its sharp white fruit. 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 cask strength 55% it is muscular. A waxy, herbal depth with orchard fruit meet a quiet vanilla from the refill oak. Soft citrus and orchard fruit sit behind the sweetness. Lemon, wax and oak draw out the close. This is a rare survivor of the 1983 cull.