The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, as we have discussed before, releases unique single cask expressions of scotch whisky. And sometimes we are lucky enough to have single cask bottlings of now closed distilleries available. I had the opportunity to try the 49.10 (St. Magdalene) the other night. The St. Magdalene distillery, located in the lowlands, is no longer with us today. It was mothballed in 1983 and has never come back online and unfortunately I believe some sort of apartment complex sits on the site now. This is the first St. Magdalene I have had and was really looking forward to it as I enjoy another mothballed lowland distillery – Rosebank.
Stats:
Aged: 26 Years – Distilled: September 1982, Bottled: January 2009
Cask: Oak
59.1% ABV
Color: Light Yellow
Nose: Big alcohol up front, white wine grapes, doughy, sugar cookies, honey sweetness.
Palate: Not sure how to put it other than soft, big malt, sweet (honey?) and floral, full flavored and bright, white grapes.
Finish: Long with lots of the floral notes.
Comments: The short summary: this is really good stuff! A little more detailed: this packed a big punch and was surprisingly bright for such an older expression. It didn’t get over cooked in the cask even though it was in there for 26 years. With a couple drops of water it got really nice, it took some of the alcohol rough edges out of it without making it too smooth. I can’t wait till I get to try this again.
The WhiskyWall 