Hey, have you had a St. Magdalene before?
That question is one of the many ways whisky nerds will size you up. If you reply and say something like “I think you mean Linlithgow” then they know you’re in the know, on that nugget of knowledge at least. And thus the toxic levels of nerdom continue.
I, personally, would have failed this level of dedication. As someone who purposely only reads about these things when he first tries and reviews them, I didn’t know that St. Magdalene was the name of the distillery, but the original name was after the town it was located in, Linlithgow. So you have some bottles that use one name, some that use others, and me quickly becoming fed up with the whole thing and just wanting to put whisky in or around my mouth. Mostly in.
Linlithgow 25 1975 Vintage Collection Signatory is thus the first Linlithgow I’ve reviewed but not the first from Linlithgow that I’ve had. Confused yet? I know I am.
It’s known as the most missed Lowland distillery, and it’s not coming back, as the old buildings are fancy bougie living spaces for some guy named Mark.
So let’s see if we need to be annoyed at Mark or not, shall we?
Price: €1,000
Region: Lowland
Vintage: 02.06.1975
Bottled: 08.09.2000
Cask No. 96/3/14
Bottle No. 250 of 352
Abv: 50.5%
Colour: 7.5Y 9/6
Nose: Marigolds, limestone, marmalade, lime sorbet, dandelion
Damn Mark, you gotta nice garden here. The local guy must work tough on it.
Good floral notes, and a ton of citrus/sweet notes. Some good limestone foundation going on. And that time I’m not talking about Mark’s place that his parents paid for.
Taste: Lemon pie, salted caramel, mint, farmy
Interesting. Starts out strong on the sweet/mineral/citrus/buttery notes, all coming together to make a really nice dram.
Damn Mark, your minimalistic condo has got a lot to make up for. I mean, this is minty and farmy without overpowering the main profile. What do you have? A single €4,000 chair you got in Prague? Fuck off, Mark.
Finish: Hay, cocoa, red licorice, vanilla, marzipan
The finish continues with more of the farm nature, shows off more of a sherry profile, and builds. It’s not as complex as the taste or nose was, and if anything lingers without growing too much. Maybe some marzipan.
No, Mark, we don’t care what small village on the coast of India has the best Marzipan. You’re a disease.
Conclusion: Fuck Mark, pack your shit, we gotta get more whisky flowing!
Floral, well-integrated with what I assume is a sherry cask taking odd turns. It’s well mixed. If that finish was better this would easily be one of the best Lowlands. And frankly, a bad finish in that it just slips a tad isn’t worth crying over.
If you’ve ever wondered what people see in Lowlands, this is the profile. And it’s one I hope I can scrounge together to find. Now if I could only get the name right.
84/100
Scotch review #1189, Lowland review #45, Whisky Network review #1831
tomoderawhisky.ca 