St. Magdalene

Once established in the Highlands, this legendary distillery has produced some of the most exclusive single malts available on the market such as the rare and highly sought-after St. Magdalene 23 Years Old Rare Malts Selection Distilled in 1970. St. Magdalene Single Malt is best defined by the sweet and citrus savors in its taste and the botanic character in the nose.

St. Magdalene was originally founded as the Linlithgow Distillery, named after the distillery’s hometown it which it was established. Some sources claim that distilling at the site of St. Magdalene was as early as in 1765, but it's wisely to approach these statements with a certain dose of skepticism. A certain fact is that St. Magdalene was originally founded by Sebastian Henderson around the late 18^th century, at the site of an old hospital which was converted into a distillery. At that time, the city of Linlithgow was an important distillery center, the home base to no less than five distilleries and a beer brewery. In 1798 the St. Magdalene Distillery was acquired by Adam Dawson, whose ancestors would remain at the helm of the distillery for over a century. 

In the year 1834, the St. Magdalene Distillery was moved to another location nearby the Union Canal, changing its former name from Linlithgow to St. Magdalene. This new location resulted in the opportunity for the St. Magdalene Distillery to have its own wharf, a huge advantage distribution wise. At the end of the 19^th century the family business A&J Dawson was formed and incorporated to the distillery, the distillery’s distilling equipment was modernized and the production capacity expanded. However, St. Magdalene wasn’t the only one thriving in its prosperous distilling achievements. The competition with the rivaling Lowlands distilleries became harder every day, and in the year 1912 Dawson finally sold the St. Magdalene Distillery to DCL (Diageo).

DCL made some drastic improvements to St. Magdalene. The distillery was upgraded with the latest electrification technologies to replace the more traditional methods such as charcoal and fuel oil basis. However, as the story goes for many of the Scottish distilleries, the economic recessions of the early 20^th century forced St. Magdalene to shut its doors, leaving only the malting floors operative for a little while longer. Production was continued after the Second World War, but in 1983 St. Magdalene Distillery was forced to shut down for good.

Many of distillery’s old premises are renovated and assigned a status of historic interest, currently used as residential apartments honoring the St. Magdalene Distillery’s past.