St. Magdalene 28 Years Old 1965 (Connoisseurs Choice)

Bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, this St. Magdalene, aged 28 year old from 1965 and bottled at 40%. Founded in 1753 on the Union Canal in West Lothian, St. Magdalene was closed in the great cull of 1983. The Union Canal carried its casks to market through the whisky boom years.

Distilled in coal fired pot stills, the barley floor malted on site, giving the waxy, mineral spirit it is remembered for. 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. A patient maturation suits the oily, waxy St Magdalene character. St Magdalene took its name from a convent and leper hospital that once stood on the site. The Union Canal ran past the distillery, carrying its casks through the whisky boom years. It was one of the five founding distilleries of Scottish Malt Distillers in 1914.

Bottled at 40%, it is rounded. The refill oak lending honey and vanilla runs under apple, hay and a faint wisp of smoke. A beeswax and a sharp white fruit give it real depth. The finish runs oily, mineral and warm. This is stock from a closed Lowland legend, ever scarcer.