St Magdalene was founded in 1798 and named Linlithgow after the town in which it was situated. It moved to St Magdalene near the Union Canal in 1834, and then changed it name to reflect its new location. St Magdalene was a fairly large distillery with 14 washbacks, 5 stills and 19 warehouses. Most of the distillery's output was destined for blending, however, final owner Diageo produced three official bottlings: a 1970 23 year old and a 1979 19 year old as part of the Rare Malts Series, as well as a 30 year old 'Linlithgow' for the Diageo 2004 Special Releases The distillery was closed permanently in 1983 and the buildings subsequently convered into apartments.
Time to get stuck into some slightly cult whisky in the form of a well-aged indie St Magdalene. Cult whisky can be tough to understand. Why is one whisky cult and another not? Why are some distilleries so sought after and bottles fought over at auction?