St. Magdalene

St. Magdalene was a large Lowland single malt distillery that was in operation for over 200 years. It was closed during the 1980s slump in the Scotch whisky industry and never reopened. Bottlings are now extremely limited and very few maturing barrels remain. This gives St. Magdalene a legendary status amongst whisky drinkers and makes it one of the most sought after single malts for collectors around the world.

During its working life St. Magdalene whisky was predominantly used by blenders. The distillery was known for a soft and gentle classic Lowland style. This had a creamy feel with light fruity and delicate zesty notes. Now only old expressions exist, so it is impossible to describe the characteristics of younger spirit. St. Magdalene was mostly matured in ex-bourbon casks.

The majority of the remaining maturing stocks are now very old and held by Diageo. Other casks exist within the independent bottling market but are similarly extremely rare. Releases from Gordon & Macphail, Douglas Laing and the SMWS (Scotch Malt Whisky Society) are the best source these days. Previous vintage bottlings include the now-legendary Diageo Rare Malts, which featured St. Magdalene when launched in the late 1980s.

Very little is known about production at St. Magdalene. Water was drawn from a well onsite for production and from the nearby Union Canal for cooling. By the early 20th century it was one of Scotland's largest distilleries with a capacity of one million litres. Equipment included 14 fermentation washbacks, five stills (two wash and three spirit stills), wormtub condensers and an amazing 19 warehouses. Early production was recorded as being lightly peated with spirit from the 1950s onwards being non-peated.

The St. Magdalene distillery was founded in 1753 by Sebastian Henderson. It was located in the town of Linlithgow, about halfway between Edinburgh and Falkirk. It would be one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland if still in operation today.

The distillery was originally named Linlithgow and was located in the Bonnytoun area of the town. It became known as St. Magdalene in 1834 when the distillery moved to be closer to the new Union Canal, which ran through the town. It had its own wharf on the canal for transportation of goods in and whisky out. The new location was the site of the former St. Magdalene hospital, a facility for the treatment of leprosy and a convent after that.

The Dawson family are key figures in the history and development of the distillery. Adam Dawson took over ownership of Linlithgow in 1798 and it remained under the family's ownership for over a century. Then in 1912, A&J Dawson went into liquidation and St. Magdalene became part of Distillers Company Limited (DCL). They remained owners until it became one of nine distilleries that the company closed in 1983. This was due to a period of poor sales of Scotch whisky at the time. Unlike others closed in the same period, it was never to come back.

The demise of St. Magdalene was complete when the majority of its buildings were demolished in the mid-1990s to be replaced by apartments. However, the floor malting facility, kiln and pagoda are Grade-C listed buildings and therefore cannot be altered. They remain as the final reminder of Linlithgow's last single malt distillery.