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Linlithgow 1973 - 30 Year Old - Special Releases 2004
Linlithgow 1973 - 2004. 30 Year Old. Bottled by Diageo for their Special Releases 2004. One of 1,500 bottles. 70cl. 59.6%.
A rare and highly regarded official bottling of Linlithgow, the alternative name used for whisky from the lost St Magdalene distillery, released as part of Diageo’s Special Releases in 2004.
Distilled in 1973 and matured for 30 years, this exceptional Lowland single malt was bottled at its natural cask strength of 59.6%. St Magdalene closed permanently in 1983 during the widespread rationalisation of the Scotch whisky industry, making surviving mature stocks increasingly scarce by the time this bottling appeared.
One of the standout closed-distillery releases from the early years of the Special Releases, this Linlithgow 30-year-old is a superb example of the distillery’s distinctive character, combining fruit, waxiness and medicinal complexity with remarkable power for its age.
St. Magdalene distillery (sometimes known as Linlithgow) is one of the greatest and most sorely missed of the lost Lowland distilleries. The distillery’s 1983 closure attracted little outcry but a handful of extraordinary Rare Malts bottlings in the late 1990s brought home the scale of the loss. Thankfully, a great many casks of St. Magdalene/Linlithgow have appeared from independent bottlers, with high strength versions by Cadenhead’s, SMWS, Douglas Laing and Gordon & MacPhail all performing well at auction.
St. Magdalene’s spirit, although sometimes showing a typical Lowland grassiness, was also frequently considerably more robust and austere than one would expect, with the pre-1975 vintages in particular displaying a minerally, oily waxiness more akin to the old Highland style malts than the soft Lowland archetype, while post-1975 vintages sometimes tend more towards elegance and fruitiness. A marvellous distillery that malt fans must try while bottlings still exist.
Distillery bottlings are, as the name suggests, bottled by or for the distillery from which the whisky has originated and are thus often referred to as Official Bottlings or OBs. Distillery bottlings are generally more desirable for collectors and usually fetch higher prices at auction than independent bottlings. They are officially-endorsed versions of the whisky from a particular distillery and are therefore considered the truest expression of the distillery’s character.
This ideal of the distillery character is regarded so seriously by the distilleries and brand owners that casks of whisky that are considered to vary too far from the archetype are frequently sold on to whisky brokers and independent bottlers. When this happens, it is often with the proviso that the distillery’s name is not allowed to be used when the cask is bottled for fear of diminishing or damaging the distillery’s character and status.