It’s my birthday so I have an excellent excuse to post a review of a special whisky, one that comes from a closed lowlands distillery, a 32 Year old  St. Magdalene Distillery (also known as Linlithgow) whisky.

I had the opportunity to see the old distillery site when my friend Tom took me there two years ago (a few pictures are here) but I didn’t taste any whisky made there until very recently when I finally tasted the 32 yo whisky bottled earlier this year by Cadenhead.

The whisky was distilled in 1982 and bottled in January 2015 at cask strength of 58.1% and only 282 bottles were produced.

Cadenhead St. Magdalene 1982 32 yo (58.1%, 282 bottles, €605)

Nose: Dusty & sour, even chalky. But then come the fresh and dry cut grass and floral notes, honey, peaches syrup (from a can), gummy bears, lemongrass leaves, thymine spice. With a few drop of water it opens up and deliver perfume, extra floral notes with hints of sweet dried fruit.

Palate: Spicy and chalky, again the honey and grassy notes. Oak wood spices, sweet lemonade, Dusty.  With water, like the nose get perfume notes, extra floral and sweeter hints of grass.

Finish: Short-Medium finish, oak spices, sour-sweet candies, dusty, dry.

Thoughts: Good work here by Mark Watt and the Candehead team. It’s not a fireworks generating dram. Instead, it’s a delicate and complex whisky with lots of lovely lowlands whisky notes. Superb whisky. Even though it’s not a ‘bomb’, it’s an uber-sexy dram and a fitting one for birthday celebrations. Slainte!