
July 30, 2026

WF's Little Duos,
today St Magdalene

It would appear there have been no recent bottlings of St Magdalene (aka Linlithgow), the supreme patron saint of the Lowlands, although I may well be mistaken. We can only hope Diageo will unleash one upon us one of these days, tucked away in one of its marvellous über-premium ranges! In the meantime, we shall have two independents from days gone by. One we last tasted more than twenty years ago, with decidedly mixed results, and I am not inclined to leave matters there, while the other will be an entirely new discovery.

Linlithgow 1975/1999 (56.3%, Scott Selection)

A bottle from the days when they told you precious little about casks, numbers, filtration or the distillery manager's age. All in all, it was rather refreshing, and at least we had the vintages and even, in a staggering display of innovation, the bottling year. Colour: gold. Nose: a razor-sharp St Magdalene, as keen as a proper Japanese ceramic knife, displaying marked austerity, hovering between tart little apples, clay and barely ripe tiny lemons. Remarkable hints of watermelon lurking in the background, and goodness knows watermelons are hardly the most aromatic of fruits, alongside an unmistakably sour edge. Sour cherries too, which we had already found, it would seem, back in… 2004. With water: we plunge straight into damp earth, chalk and clay… Mouth (neat): I am utterly convinced this bottle has improved immensely over more than twenty-five years, the whisky having become far more precise, magnificently lemony and rid of the slightly feinty, dirty notes that still lingered when it was bottled. It even brings the Rare Malts to mind, which is saying something, albeit with rather less complexity all the same. With water: I feared it might have drifted towards damp cardboard and stale herbal infusions, as sometimes happens, but not at all, instead we are treated to a flawless lemon and lime sorbet, utterly perfect in the height of summer. Finish: long, scarcely any less precise. A faint touch of beer. Comments: the miracle of time, certainly time in cask, but also time in bottle, that lovely patina. Provided everything goes well, of course, there are no hard and fast rules. Twelve extra points over twenty-two years, just imagine that.
SGP:461 - 91 points.

St Magdalene 1980/1992 (62.8%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #49.4)

A twelve-year-old! Just imagine, by 1980 we were already drawing close to the end of the life of this now legendary distillery. You will also note that, back then, the SMWS told you precious little more, and those wonderfully amusing names later bestowed upon the malts by highly motivated tasters, presumably motivated by the liquids they had been consuming, had not yet appeared. Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: white sugar! It is rather uncommon to find that straight away in a malt, even a young one. And I do not mean barley syrup. Then pistachio syrup, which is hardly commonplace we must admit, along with a surprising popcorn note. In short, I have the feeling this baby needs water, plenty of water… With water: rich, high-protein barley, bread dough, sourdough starter, but also clay once again. I am not quite sure where the citrus has disappeared to, but let us persevere… Mouth (neat): this time we are immediately greeted by lemon and smoke, almost smoked peaty lemon, if such a thing were ever to exist. It is immediate, straightforward, uncompromising, and we surrender to it with delight. There is even a medicinal side reminiscent of Laphroaig, camphor, ointments, surgical alcohol… With water: we catch up with the Scott Selection, although it remains just a shade less emphatic when it comes to citrus power. Finish: lovely, oily, yeasty, sharp, a little challenging, yet that is rather what we expect from St Magdalene. The good news is that the lemon makes a very welcome and highly noticeable return in the aftertaste. Comments: tasting youthful malts from distilleries that have long since closed is always an immense pleasure, despite, or rather because of, their imperfections. Imperfections that could just as easily be called rough edges, character, singularity or individuality. Malt whisky is life, it is almost human, is it not?
SGP:461 - 90 points.

Check the index of all St Magdalene we've tasted

WF's Little Duos, today St Magdalene

WF's Little Duos,
today St Magdalene