St. Magdalene 1979

Overall rating: 92.34/100
votes: 277

Category: Single Malt
Distillery: St. Magdalene
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Bottling serie: Rare Malts Selection
Vintage: 1979
Bottled: 10.1998
Stated Age: 19 years old
Strength: 63.8 % Vol.
Size: 700 ml
Bottle code: LLJL03386091
Barcode: 5000281014883
Added on: 27 Aug 2008 5:12 pm

Average value

€ 1506,79

Found 10 online shops. Lowest price:

€ 1108,46

	Master of Malt	£ 1495,00

	Hard To Find Whisky	£ 1499,95

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Whisky Reviews for St. Magdalene 1979

48 users have left a review for this whisky and scored it an average of 92.34 points

Dram Dracula scored this whisky 93 points
30 Nov 2019 2:06 am
Opened last week. This is the second time I'm trying it. I'll try not to let the reputation of this bottling influence my review or my score.... maybe.

Nose

94 94

Extremely complex nose. Dark and brooding, with roasted chestnuts, maple walnuts, earthy peat, clay, Tie Guan Yin (Iron Buddha) tea, dried seaweed, salt water taffy. As far as the nose is concerned, I think it will be difficult to beat this St. Magdalene... sure, something super fruity and peaty can provide a challenge, but for this type of whisky, it has no match. If you've tried the Glen Ord 30yo OB, you would know what I mean, but this St Mag slays the Ord in every regard so far.

Taste

93 93

Superb balance for something more than 63% in ABV. Salty, old metals, oily with a touch of the industrial feel, stone fruits, crushed stones. Black tea.

Finish

93 93

No off-flavors at all... This whisky is balanced from start to finish. I look forward to drinking this bottle over the next year or two... I heard that it gets better and better the longer it's opened :)
St. Pauli scored this whisky 93 points
21 Apr 2017 8:56 pm
Extraordinary stuff. One of the best I've tried. This whisky gives you so many associations that are all pleasant, that you could easily linger for hours with a dram.

Nose

There is a lot going on here. It's complex and utterly powerful. There is a nice combination of wood smoke, beeswax, sweet malt, lavender honey, rose, citrus, and peach. After a while, aromas of vanilla and creamy banana custard unfold.

Taste

Intensely full bodied, creamy, and oily, but with a kick of the alcohol. This doesn't disturb. It's smoky, fruity, and flowery at the same time. Peach, cherry, sweet lemon, rose, lavender, vanilla custard, furniture polish, malt, a little bit of grass, and just a mild peppery edge. You name it, and it's there...

Finish

Long, creamy, and very fruity. Think of a tropical fruit milkshake, icing sugar, and the like. Then, still the wonderful malt, cinnamon, and pepper.
Ragazzo scored this whisky 96 points
23 Jan 2014 3:55 pm

I could try it these days and I must say this is one of the BEST Whiskies I´ve ever had! If you can get to this, don´t think to long... it is worth every cent!!!

Just amazingly fantastic!
PEATYBOI scored this whisky 93 points
01 Dec 2019 3:35 pm

After much anticipation, I finally had a dram of this at a well-known bar in Japan.

The nose is pretty with floral and aromatic hints of lavender and roses (quite similar to the Rosebank 12 Flora and Fauna). After a few minutes, the nose opens up to light and fresh fruity notes such as pear and apple.

On the palate, the body is extremely aggressive at 63.8% vol. Nonetheless, its creamy and oil profile can still be tasted. After a few drops of water, the dram opens up with fruity notes such as peach and citrus. The lowland grass is also ever-present. Although I have tasted many great whiskies, this dram stands to be one of the most challenging and complex whiskies I have ever tasted. The palate is simultaneously full and extremely nuanced, and as a result, one has to really spend time to pick apart the flavours that are found in this dram. It is highly recommended that you allow time to enjoy this and revisit the dram every 5-10 minutes once poured.

The finish is long, fruity, and a little bit peppery.

This was a fantastic dram but the price is certainly keeping me away from adding a bottle to my collection!
sagara-kun scored this whisky 89 points
25 Feb 2019 1:22 pm
Very strong in alcohol as often with rare malts.
Beautiful complexity. But we feel that we are at the opening of the bottle and that the potential is not yet exploited. Evolution to follow

Nose

Nose sting a little bit.
Pepper, mint, eucalyptus, camphor.
Wood, light cigar. Milk?
Grass, hay, cannabis.

Taste

On the palate it is balanced on the woody and aromas typical of bourbon.
White floral, lemon, nutmeg.
Black pepper.

Finish

Long finish on pepper, leather, tobacco, yellow fruit.
Rosebank88 scored this whisky 94 points
18 Jan 2018 5:05 pm
An outstanding whisky!

Nose

Wow! Incredibly complex and floral. Below is a heavy oily sweetness, coconut, vanilla and burned grass, cedar and slightly burnt toast with orange marmalade.

Taste

In the body surprisingly light but very lively. Again very floral, dry, fragrant hay, or better hay harvest in midsummer with all the aromas of hay, oily elements and warm earth. Later also liquorice and subtle smoke.

Finish

Very long, nutty and burnt grass again.
Allandale scored this whisky 92 points
18 Mar 2017 12:39 pm
A dream dram.

Nose

Grassiness. This one shows maturity and district waxiness. Beeswax polish and rosin, in the back some ripe nectarines and fragrant, drying hay after rain. Some coal dust elements. Water: cherry blossom, pancake batter and baby oil. Lovely

Taste

Gentle and really sweet. Well balanced. Its flits between the fruit,drier cereal elements and acidity, making this a complete and complex package. Rounded and umami-like . Wonderful.

Finish

Fresh and acidic. Long aftertaste. Lovely.
dram-drinker scored this whisky 93 points
31 Mar 2016 12:11 am
What a powerful whisky! It's one of the very few whiskys I really need to add water. Otherwise it is great!

Nose

Malty fruitiness, citrusy, lemony, other tropical fruits, little smoky

Taste

Wow, really powerful. Lots of lemons and citrus fruits, oily and liquorice, salty and peppery. Pretty dry. Need to add water. More water. Now becomes much smoother. I start tasting wood notes and a subtle sweetness appears.

Finish

Long and burning - a tad bitter in the end and more vegetal but that's OK.
Georges scored this whisky 95 points
10 Mar 2016 11:13 pm
Just amazing!

Nose

Sweet malt, fruity (oranges, peaches, apricots), caramel, toffee, marzipan, honey, vanilla, butterscotch

Taste

Fruity (oranges, peaches, apricots, lime, lemons), peppery, hint of smoke, caramel, spicy (clove, nutmeg)

Finish

Long, citrus, peppery, oaky
Drochaid scored this whisky 93 points
09 Feb 2014 3:01 pm

(twe) St Magdalene's 1979 entry in the Rare Malts series. The distillery closed in 1983, as part of the mass-closures across the industry at the time, and this is one of the few official bottlings that made it out of the distillery. It's an excellent malt, picking up a stack of 90+ scores from the Malt Maniacs.

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