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Rosebank

SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > R
ROSEBANK  
13 years old
58,9%           
Date Distilled Oct 78
Date Bottled Oct 91
Society Cask Code 25.4
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh

Bijna rood van kleur. Zwavel in de neus. Heel zoete, stroperige smaak, als van likeur. Heel sterke, kruidige afdronk.

ROSEBANK  
9 years old
43%                    
Lowlands
Established on present site in Camelon
in 1840
Distilled 1983
Bottled 1992
Bristol Brandy Company Ltd.

ROSEBANK  
12 years old
43%        
FLORA & FAUNA
Distilled 1980
Bottled 1992
Rosebank Distillery, Falkirk,
Stirlingshire

Established on the present site at Camelon in 1840, Rosebank distillery stands on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal.
This was once a busy thoroughfare with boats and steamers continually passing by; it is still the source of water for cooling.
This single Malt Scotch Whisky is triple distilled which accounts for its light distinctive nose and well balanced flavour.
Goudkleurig. Licht, droog en grassig, bloemig in de neus. Licht van body. In de smaak mout, zoetheid en met iets gember. In de afdronk opnieuw gras en bloemen.

ROSEBANK   
9 years old
40 %            
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1988
Bottled 1996
Proprietors: United Malt &
Grain Distillers
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ROSEBANK   
VINTAGE 1989                 
7 years old
43 %
Distilled 4.10.89
Bottled 8.97
Matured in sherry casks
CaskNos. 1740 & 41
870 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

ROSEBANK   
16 years old
63,9 %              
FLORA & FAUNA
CASK STRENGHT
Year of distillation 1981
Bottled 1997
Limited Bottling
Genummerde flessen
Rosebank Distillery, Falkirk,
Stirlingshire

This pale gold Lowland Malt has a light and fresh nose with hints of mint. Its flavours are characteristically dry and appetising, with hints of salt leading to a short, dry finish.

ROSEBANK   
VINTAGE 1990               
8 years old
43 %
Distilled 12.2.90
Cask No. 506
Bottled 5.11.98
465 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd,
Edinburgh

ROSEBANK   
20 years old
60.3 %              
RARE MALTS SELECTION
Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled 1979
Bottled October 1999
Limited Edition
Genummerde flessen
United Malt & Grain Distillers Ltd,
Glasgow

Dating from 1817-19, (establish in 1840) but sadly mothballed today, is celebra¬ted among Lowlands malts as standing comparison with Scotland's best.
As you savour this greengold 20 year old, its very dry flowery aromas soon reveal big, soft meadow-flower flavours. This is a deliciously firm, silky bodied malt with a very long, sweetly dry finish.

ROSEBANK   
VINTAGE 1990   
43%              
SIGNATORY 2000
SIGNATORY MILLENNIUM
EDITION
Distilled on 14th February
1990
Bottled 7th January 2000
Cask No. 530
Natural Colour
462 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd,
Edinburgh

ROSEBANK   
12 years old
40 %                 
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1983
Bottled 1995
Proprietors: United Malt &
Grain Distillers
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ROSEBANK   
VINTAGE 1983
43 %           
Distilled 19.10.83
Bottled 2.95
Matured in sherry casks
Cask Nos. 1668-69
760 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd,
Edinburgh

Okergeel van kleur met een zweempje groen. In de neus sherry, gember, gras. Vol van body. Bloemig, zacht van smaak met gember, honing, appels en sherry. Prach¬tig in balans. Zachte lange afdronk.

ROSEBANK   
13 years old
59,3%                
CADENHEAD'S
AUTHENTIC COLLECTION
Cask Strenght
Distilled July 1980
Bottled July 1993
No Additives
No Chill Filtration
No Colouring
Wm. Cadenhead, Campbeltown

ROSEBANK   
11 years old
43 %               
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT
SCOTH WHISKY SELECTION
Distilled 18/2/91
Bottled 6/11/2002
Cask no. 552
Genummerde flessen
The Ultimate Whisky Company,
N.L.

ROSEBANK   
VINTAGE 1990                 
SIGNATORY 2000
SIGNATORY  MILLENNIUM  
EDITION
MAGNUM 150 CL
9 YEARS
43 %
Distilled 12th February 1990
Bottled 27th August 1999
Cask No. 510
220 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

ROSEBANK  
9 years old
40 %                
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1988
Bottled 1997
Proprietors: United Malt &
Grain Distillers
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ROSEBANK   
8 years old
43 %                
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY SELECTION
Distilled 3/7/91
Bottled 6/6/2000
Matured in a Bourbon Barrel
Cask no. 2067
Genummerde flessen
The Ultimate Whisky Company,
N.L.

ROSEBANK  
11 years old
40 %                
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1989
Bottled 2000
Proprietors: United Malt &
Grain Distillers
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ROSEBANK   
10 years old
56.2 %                 
SILENT STILLS
Distilled 20.4.89
Bottled 31.1.00
Cask No. 912
318 bottles
Distillers Agency
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd,
Edinburgh

ROSEBANK  
over 11 years old
43 %              
THE McGIBBON'S
PROVENANCE
SPRING DISTILLATION
Distilled Spring 1989
Bottled Spring 2000
No Colouring
Not Chill Filtered
Douglas MCGibbon & Co, Ltd, Glasgow

ROSEBANK  
11 years old
50%                 
THE OLD MALT CASK 50o
Single Cask Bottling
Distilled February 1989
Bottled November 2000
360 bottles
No Colouring
Douglas Laing & Co, Ltd, Glasgow

ROSEBANK  
11 years old
46%           
Distilled April 1989
Bottled May 2000
Cask Ref: MM 523
Cask Type: Bourbon
Murray McDavid Ltd,
Glasgow and London

This is the classic Lowland malt. Yes, it is young, but: If you ever find one aged 8, re-mortgage the house for it', extols Jim Murray of the Complete Guide to Whisky. So here it is, widely acknowledged as the finest of the Lowland malts, it was partially triple-distilled, which enhance its great charm and elegance. Closed in 1993 amidst rumours of a property deal; an ignominious end, but then as it's owner, Guinness exhorts 'not everything is black and white makes sence'.

ROSEBANK   
11 years old
43%                
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY SELECTION
Distilled 12.4.89
Bottled 30.1.2001
Cask No. 789
Genummerde flessen
The Ultimate Whisky Company, N.L.

ROSEBANK  
9 years old
60.3 %              
SINGLE CASK
SCOTCH MALT WHISKY
Date Distilled Feb 90
Date Bottled Sept 99
Society Cask No. code 25.15
287 bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
'Fresh as a summer's day'.

Although it was generally considered to be the queen of the Lowland malts, this distillery on the Forth and Clyde Canal at Falkirk was closed in 1993.

Pale gold in colour, the first nose is quite prickly, sweet and somewhat green, with este-ry notes and the friendly scent of fresh hay. The flavour, straight, is sweet and honied, with some beeswax; the sweetness is reduced somewhat when water is added (and it can take plenty of water) and the honeycomb moves to the aftertaste.
A light, fresh dram, which some of their panel refferred at full strenght, others reduced. But we all agreed it might be very good served frozen, as a 'shooter', on a hot summer's day.

ROSEBANK  
8 years old
46 %               
Distilled February 1990
CaskRef: MM 517
Cask Type: Bourbon
Bottled May 1998
Murray McDavid Ltd,
Glasgow and London

ROSEBANK   
14 years old
40 %                
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1989
Bottled 2003
Proprietors: United Malt &
Grain Distillers
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ROSEBANK   
22 years old
50%              
THE OLD MALT CASK 50o
Single Cask Bottling
Distilled September 1978
Bottled May 2001
444 Bottles
No Chill Filtration
No Colouring
Douglas Laing & Co, Ltd,
Glasgow

ROSEBANK  
28 years old
50 %             
THE OLD MALT CASK 50o
Single Cask Bottling
Distilled January 1973
Bottled February 2001
270 bottles
No Chill Filtration
No Colouring
Douglas Laing & Co, Ltd,
Glasgow

ROSEBANK   
VINTAGE 1991                 
12 years old
43%
SIGNATORY VINTAGE
Single Lowland Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled on 17th November
1991
Matured in a bourbon barrel
Bottled on 25th March 2004
Cask No. 4703
331 numbered Bottles
Natural Colour
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

ROSEBANK  
21 years old
64.2 %           
SINGLE CASK
SCOTCH MALT WHISKY
Date distilled April 1981
Date bottled August 2002
Society Cask No. code 25.26
Outturn 540 bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
'Cinnamon and addfellows'

This distinguished lowland distillery was founded in the late 19th century, by a local grocer and wine and spirit merchant. It has many fans at the Society, and besides being the oldest example we have bottled, this is an interesting example having been re-acked into an ex-Macallan sherry butt.
This has given it plenty of colour, rich gold with parchment shades. The first nose is remarkably rich for a lowland, with spicy cinnamon and Oddfellows prominent.

To drink at full strenght the first flavour is that of articial sweeties, particularly rhubarb rock. Then comes an aftertaste of licqorice and dry, clean, toasted wood.
Diluted there are gentle citric and floral notes, like fairy liquid and orange blossom. It is unusual to see a light lowland in a sherry cask, and this would make for an inte¬resting comparative tasting with a sherried Speyside of a similar age.

ROSEBANK  
20 years old
62.3 %               
RARE MALTS SELECTION
Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled 1981
Bottled May 2002
Genummerde flessen
Limited Edition
Scottish Malt Distillers, Elgin

ROSEBANK  
22 years old
61.1 %                        
RARE MALTS SELECTION
Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled 1981
Bottled 2004
Genummerde flessen
Limited Edition
Scottish Malt Distillers, Elgin

ROSEBANK   
12 years old
54,7 %              
Lowland;
AUTHENTIC COLLECTION
Cask Strenght
Distilled 1989
Bottled: February 2002
Cask: Bourbon Hogshead
No. of Bottles: 276
Distillery: Silent
Wm. Cadenhead, Campbeltown,
Argyll

This whisky from an individual cask, has not been diluted with water, artificially coloured or chill filtered and is not the same as the product bottled by the distiller.
William Cadenhead Limited: an independent bottler, not connected with the distiller.

ROSEBANK  
13 years old
46 %                 
Lowland
ORIGINAL COLLECTION
Individual Cask
Distilled 1989
Cask: Bourbon Hogshead
Bottled June 2002
No. of Bottles: 396
Distillery: Silent
Wm. Cadenhead, Campbeltown, Argyll

ROSEBANK  
14 years old
55,9 %                
Lowland
AUTHENTIC COLLECTION
Cask Strenght
Distilled 1989
Bottled: July 2003
Wood Type: Bourbon Hogshead
No. of Bottles: 294
Wm. Cadenhead Ltd, Campbeltown,
Argyll

ROSEBANK   
11 years old
46 %                
Lowland
Bourbon Hogshead
381 Bottles
Wm. Cadenhead Ltd, Campbeltown,
Argyll

ROSEBANK  
11 years old
43%               
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY SELECTION
Distilled 27/11/1991
Bottled: 4/9/2003
Matured in a Bourbon Barrel
Cask no. 4695
Genummerde flessen
The Ultimate Whisky Company, N.L.

ROSEBANK   
14 years old
58,8 %                 
GORDON & MACPHAIL RESERVE
Single Lowland Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled 1990
Cask No 494
Bottled 2004
Limited Edition
301 Bottles
Proprietors: United Malt & Grain Distillers
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ROSEBANK   
9 years old
44 %               
THE SECRET TREASURES
OF SCOTLAND
SINGLE CASK - SINGLE MALT
LOWLAND SCOTCH WHISKY
This product was originally
Distilled  on 25th March  1992
Cask No.   1461
Especially Selected by
A. Rickards, Master Blender
402 Numbered Bottles
mported by S. Fassbind AG,
Oberath
The Moray Malt Whisky Ltd,
Edinburgh

ROSEBANK  
Aged 25 years  
61,4 %                              
SPECIAL RELEASES 2007
CLASSIC  MALTS  SELECTION
Natural Cask Strenght
Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Triple Distilled
James Rankine
Distilled 1981
Matured in American Oak refill casks
Bottled in 2007
Limited Edition
4710 Numbered Bottles
Scottish Malt Distillers, Elgin

Rosa Rubiginosa
Wild roses are to be found throughout lowland Scotland in hedgerows, scrub and woodland.
The sweet briar is the strongest and most fragrant, in flower and foliage alike

ROSEBANK  
16 years old
40 %                                              
1991
CONNOISSEURS  CHOICE
Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled: March 1991
Cask Type: Refill Sherry Hogshead
Bottled: April 2007
Proprietors: United malt &
Grain Distillers
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

Established in the 1840’s,  Rosebank operated on one side of the Forth and Clyde canal with
Camelon on the other. In 1865 Camelon was demolished with the exception of the maltings
which were retained by Rosebank. It is one of those rare malts which goes through a triple
distillation process. This distillery was closed in 1993

Some would say “the”Lowland Malt – light with subtle flavours

ROSEBANK   
16 years old
61,1 %                                              
CASK STRENGHT SINGLE  MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY
1990
Region; Lowlands
Distilled; 27/6/90
Refill Sherry Butts
Cask Nos. 1605, 1606
Bottled; 30/3/06
Proprietors: United Malt &
Grain Distillers
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ROSEBANK    
13 years old
46 %                
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY SELECTION
Distilled 27/11/91
Bottled 27/6/05
Matured  in a bourbon barrel
Cask no.   4726
Numbered Bottles
Natural Colour
Non Chillfiltered
The Ultimate Whisky Company,
N.L.

ROSEBANK  
13 years old
46 %               
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT   
SCOTCH WHISKY SELECTION
Distilled:27/ll/91
Matured  in a bourbon barrel
Cask no:   4742
Bottled:   23/11/05
Numbered Bottles
Natural Colour
Non Chillfiltered
The Ultimate Whisky Company,  
N.L.

ROSEBANK    
over 13 years old  
56,9 %             
Lowland  
Single Malt  Scorch Whisky
BOTTLED FOR MANUFACTUM
Distilled:   27.11.1991
Matured  in a bourbon barrel
Cask No.:   4738
Bottled October 2005
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburg

ROSEBANK  
Aged 17 years
56,1 %  
THE  SCOTCH  MALT  WHISKY
SOCIETY
Single Malt Scotch Whisky from
a Single Cask
SOCIETY SINGLE CASK  
No. 25.46                             
Distilled July 1991
Cask type Refill Barrel Ex Bourbon
Outturn 228 Bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Lemonade in a buttercup
meadow"

The nose starts out fresh, grassy and lemony, with sweet vanilla notes developing.
In reduction it seems like lemonade in a spring meadow. The palate has a similar
Character but with warm spice (ginger, cinnamon) and a velvety mouthfeel.

The nose had grass and hay and a sharp sweetness (lemon meringue pie pear crumble)
Gradually the sharpness faded leaving drier sweet notes like vanilla – flavoured Edinburgh
rock. That character continued in the taste, but it also had lots of warm spice (apple pie
with cinnamon, ginger and clove). The mouth – feel was rich and velvethy; the Vault – master
called it “unctuous”

At reduced – strength, the nose became fruity and fresh, with buttercup spring meadows, later
turning to traditional lemonade. The palate, strangely enough, seemed now to have a fizzy aspect, if slightly thinner.

Triple – distilled in a distillery near Falkirk which closed in 1993.

A palate cleanser or aperitif

We the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky binside this bottle has been passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a Society
bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members are selected, true to our motto:

“To  leave no nose upturned “

ROSEBANK
18 years old  
55 %
SINGLE  MALT  SCOTCH  WHISKY
FROM  A  SINGLE  CASK
Distilled July 1991
Cask Type: Refill Barrel / ex Bourbon
1 of 216 bottles
Society Single Cask No:  25.52
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Fresh and juicy collides with
spicy heat"

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been passed
under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a Society
bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members are selected, true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned”

The nose has fresh pine and citrus, turning to vanilla, tobacco, spice and light smoke; in
reduction – toasted teacakes and Victoria sponge, The palate is a collision of citrus (orange,
sherbet, lime) against hot spice. (cinnamon, pepper and clove).  

We found the nose very pleasant; initial pine – fresh furniture polish turned to citrus (sherbet
lemon, lime marmalade) then banana, vanilla and tobacco, with gentle smoke and spice.

Citrus was also evident on the palate (lime, tangerine, orange zest) along with clove, cinnamon and further hints of smoke.

The reduced nose released even more vanilla (we thought of Victoria sponges and birthday
cakes) and toasted muffins or teacakes. On the reduced palate, limeade, sherbet and tinned
pears delivered fresh, juicy impressions, though a peppery heat also embraced the tongue.

The distillery, not far from the Falkirk Wheel, closed in 1993.   

ROSEBANK   
Aged  20 years  
55.9 %  
FROM  A  SINGLE  CASK
Society Single cask No. 25.53
Cask Type: Refill Hogshead
Distilled April 1989
Outturn 297 bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Pomanders and Powder puffs"

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been     
passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release     
as a Society bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and     
delight our members are selected, true to our motto: To leave no nose upturned”.
   
The clean and powdery nose has sweets (Love Hearts, Turkish delights, dark chocolate)     
and pomanders (citrus and musk); hyacinths, spearmint and violets with water. The     
neat palate has lemon drops , chrysanthemum and rose petals; later rosehip tea and rice    
paper.
     
The clean and powdery nose brought thoughts of concectionary and bathtime scents;    
Love Hearts sweets, dusty marshmallows, lemon and rose scented Turkish delight    
dark chocolate with peppered rose pieces; and after the bath, lush body butter, talcium    
powder puffs and musky pomanders. The neat palate was fizzy and floral – Victorian      
lemon drops, chrysanthemum and yellow roses, icing sugar. With water the nose     
opened up to reveal garden scents – hyacinths, fresh garden spearmint and violets,    
rose petals and stems; meringue with dark chocolate and brown cane sugar added sweet-     
ness. The reduced palate was lightly drying with rosehip tea, marshmallows and rice     
paper. This sadly demolished distillery was situated in camelon on the banks of the Forth     
and Clyde canal.

ROSEBANK  
Aged  20 years  
53,8 %                                 
SINGLE  MALT  SCOTCH  
WHISKY
FROM  A  SINGLE  CASK
Distilled  1st July 1991
Cask type Refill Barrel / Ex Bourbon
Ouuturn / 1 of only 210 Bottles
Society Single Cask No. 25.59
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Boxing gloves and rapier thrusts"


We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been passed
under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a Society
bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members are
selected, true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned”.

The perfumed nose carries chocolate, crème brûlée, lychee, lemon, honeyed pears, pepper
vanilla, flowers and beeswax; green fruits, white wine and oysters appear with water.

The dry, mouth – numbing palate has clove, mentho;, tobacco, juicy citrus, some pine and floral notes.

Perfumes  shifted and shimmered under our noses, conveying chocolate  Cheerios, crème stood on a beeswax polished table.

The surprisingly dry palate had mouth – numbing clove and menthol tobacco – boxing gloves
of spice  and rapier trusts of citrus ( orange, grapefruit, lemon zest ) left us gasping.

The reduced nose became more straight forward – light, fresh, lemony, floral, with green
fruits, crisp white wine and oysters.

The reduced palate ( still pepper hot, but less drying ) was woody ( fresh pine) fruity
( cherries, lychees, juicy and floral)

The distillery name is also rather floral.

ROSEBANK
25 year
46 %
RARE  OLD
A Special Single Malt
Scotch Whisky
Distilled 1990
Lot No. RO / 15 / 11
Natural Colour
Non Chill Filtered
Selected, Matured and Bottled
By Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

Hints of rose petals, beeeswax polish and lingering
citrus notes, The palate has cracked black pepper
with red apple, orange peel and sugar coated almonds.

Rosebank Distillery was located on the banks of the
Forth and Clyde canal. When Diageo sold the site, the
deeds stated that it could not be used for distilling
until 2017.



ROSEBANK
Camelon, Falkirk, Stirlingshire. Licentiehouder: The Distillers Agency Ltd. Onderdeel van United Distillers Ltd. Eigendom van Guinness.

Het stichtingsjaar van Rosebank is niet zeker, Rosebank zou zijn gebouwd door John Smeaton in 1768 - 1773.

Rosebank wordt in 1817 - 1819 beschreven toen James Robertson dIe eigenaar was, maar waarschijnlijk stond de distilleerderij niet op dezelfde plaats als nu.
James Rankine, eerder kruidenier, kocht in 1840 de mouterij van de Camelon distilleerderij aan de oost zijde van het kanaal en begon met distilleren.
James Rankine breidde zijn distilleerderij aanzienlijk uit en kwam in financiële moeilijkheden.
De reden voor de vestiging van een distilleerderij hier was het Forth & Clyde Canal, aanzienlijke kolenvelden en voldoende water.

Camelon was in bedrijf als distilleerderij van 1826 - 1861.

R.W. Rankine, zijn zoon, herbouwde de distilleerderij in 1864 en richtte het gebouwencomplex geheel op nieuw in.
Rankine sloopte de gebouwen van de gesloten Camelon distilleerderij en bouwde op dezelfde plaats een mouterij, die tot 1968 in bedrijf zouden blijven.
De beide gebouwencomplexen, aan weerszijden van het Forth and Clyde kanaal waren verbonden met een draaibrug.

In 1894 werd Rosebank een N.V.: Rosebank Distillery Ltd. Het aandelenkapitaal bedroeg E 120.000.

In 1897 werd het aandelenkapitaal aanzienlijk verhoogd; de whiskyboom was bijna op zijn hoogtepunt, en letterlijk iedereen wilde aandelen in de whiskyhandel, en vooral distil-leerderij en.

De whisky van Rosebank stond zo goed bekend en de vraag was zo groot, dat Rankine zijn afnemers op rantsoen kon zetten en als enigste zijn klanten rente liet betalen voor de tijd dat de whisky in zijn lagerpakhuizen rijpte.

Men produceerde toen 319.000 liter whisky per jaar en het produkt werd vooral verkocht in Edinburgh en Glasgow.

Dit waren de 'whiskyboom' jaren: Engeland was een wereldmacht, importeerde goedkope grondstoffen uit zijn koloniën en exporteerde industriële produkten naar dezelfde;gebieden.
Ook de binnenlandse consumptie steeg, er was werk en het uitgebuitte werkvolk dronk. Het aantal distilleerderijen steeg van 124 in 1890 tot 161 in 1899.

De instorting van de whiskymarkt werd ingeluid met het frauduleuze bankroet van de broers Robert en Walter Pattison op 8 Juni 1899.

Heel veel distilleerderijen moesten sluiten, blenders en handelaren gingen bankroet en banken kwamen in financiële moeilijkheden.

De ramp was enorm en de gevolgen nog groter, Charles Doig, de architekt van veel distilleerderij en en uitvinder van het pagoda dak, voorspelde bij het bouwen van de Glen Elgin distilleerderij in 1898, dat het wel eens vijtig jaar zou kunnen duren voor er weer een nieuwe distilleerderij zou worden gebouwd, dat kwam uit, in 1958 werd The Tormore de eerste nieuw gebouwde distilleerderij in Schotland in die eeuw.

Rosebank doorstond de katastrofe relatief goed en overleefde tot Juli 1914 toen de Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd werd gevormd om produktie en afname met elkaar in overeenstemming te brengen.
Bijna alle malt whisky distilleerderijen werden op last van de regering gesloten van 1914 1919, om gerst te gebruiken voor de produktie van voedsel voor de bevolking, onder de wei-nige uitzonderingen was Rosebank.
De moeilijkheden voor de whiskyindustrie werden nog groter als gevolg van de Amerikaanse drooglegging en de daarop volgende economische crisis.
Ook in de tweede wereldoorlog werden bijna alle distilleerderijen gesloten, en weer was Rosebank één van de uitzonderingen.

In de periode na het bankroet van de Pattisons in 1899 blenders en handelshuizen of fuseerden of werden overgenomen door de almachtige Distillers Company Ltd. (D.C.L.)

Distilleerderijen werden gesloten en de voorraden afgebouwd, maar de voorraden waren zo enorm dat sommige distilleerderijen zestig jaar gesloten bleven, om ver na de tweede wereldoorlog weer te worden opgestart.

Sommigen waren tot dan maar enkele maanden in produktie geweest.

Rosebank overleefde al deze ellende, maar moest toch sluiten in Mei 1993, toen er weer een recessie heerste in de whiskyindustrie.

Was eerst de ligging van Rosebank een reden van zijn succes, werd nu mede zijn ondergang: de vaten met whisky moesten over een steeds drukker wordende verkeersweg worden gerold naar de lagerpakhuizen aan de andere kant en er kwamen niet voldoende toeristen om er een bezoekerscentrum van te maken.

Even gloorde er nog hoop, toen United Distillers, de opvolgers van de D.C.L. zijn heel succesvolle serie 'Classic Malts' zou uitbrengen, en werd overwogen Rosebank als Lowland malt in deze serie een plaats te geven, maar door velen betreurd in de Schotse whiskywereld, werd het Glenkinchie.

Rosebank had een heel grote reputatie en was heel geliefd bij blenders.

Rosebank werd drie maal gedistilleerd, het water kwam van de Carron Valley Reservoir en het koelwater uit het Forth and Clyde Canal.

Rosebank was de bepalende malt in de blend King George IV.

Er zijn geruchten dat Rosebank wellicht weer gedeeltelijk of alleen als museum weer zou worden geopend.

D.C.L, later United Distillers, had in zijn beginjaren een eigen export afdeling die in 1924 werd verzelfstandigd met als naam The Distillers Agency Ltd en als plaats van vestiging de Knockdhu distilleerderij, de eerste door D.C.L. nieuw gebouwde distilleerderij. (1893).

Toen Knockdhu sloot in 1983 werd The Distillers Agency Ltd de licentiehouder van Rosebank.

Het proceswater kwam van het Carron Valley Reservoir, het koelwater van het Forth and Clyde Canal.

Rosebank had drie ketels, één wash still en twee spirit stills.


October 2005
Diageo has announced that its 2005 Annual Rare Malts Selection will be the last.
The collection will consist of four cask strenght single malts from closed distilleries; Glen Mhor 28 years old, Millburn 35 years old, Glendullan 26 years old and Linkwood 30 years old.
Dr. Nicholas Morgan, global malts marketing director commented: 'As the Special Releases are now well established, it makes less sence to continue selecting and promoting a parallel series of Rare Malts with his own separate indentity'.
In future, all premium and rare whiskies will be made available in the annual Special Re-leases series.

Alfred Barnard visited the distillery a few years before the publication of his book, The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom, 1887. Rosebank, he wrote, "is one mile from Falkirk, and half a mile from the River Carron, and is built on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal. It is not so isolated as many of the distilleries are, being placed by the main road, on which there is a con-stant stream of traffic, and also fronting the canal, where boats and steamers are continually passing to and fro".

The site, according to Barnard, "was chosen on account of the inexhaustible supply of water"; but it had other advantages. Its proximity to a coalfield must have reduced the cost of transport-ing fuel, and the canal provided an economic route for incoming barley and for consignments of whisky to Glasgow, Leith and other seaports.

Rosebank Distillery was recorded in 1817-19, when it was worked by James Robertson. Its history on the present site seems to have begun in 1840, when James Rankine, a former grocer, acquired the makings of the Camelon Distillery, on the east bank of the canal, and began operations as a distiller. Five years later, according to Barnard, "the buildings were considerably enlarged", and Rankine got into temporary financial difficulties. They were "entirely rebuilt in a modern form" by his son, R.W. Rankine, in 1864. Offices, described by Barnard as handsome and newly-built, were added later. The red-brick buildings, facing the canal and backing on to the road, were grouped around an interior courtyard, and designed to make the best use of a restricted space.

Rankine demolished the main buildings of the Camelon Distillery, on the west bank of the canal, in 1865, three years after it ceased trading, and replaced them with a makings. The two ranges of buildings were connected by a swing-bridge and covered three acres (1.2 hectares). They adjoined another two acres accommodating "the grounds and gardens of Rosebank House, one of the residences of Mr. Rankine", who lived mainly in Edinburgh.

Rankine achieved his object: to distil a whisky that would stand comparison with the best Scottish makes. By Barnard's day output had reached 120 gallons (310 litres), sold mainly to the Edinburgh and Glasgow markets. In the 1890's, at the height of the distillery boom, there was an extraordinary demand for the make and many customers had to be content with an allocation of a smaller amount than they had ordered. The proprietor was the only malt whisky distiller at that time who was able to charge his customers warehouse rent.

The business was converted into a limited liability company, under the name of Rosebank Distillery Ltd., in 1894. The share capital was £10, of which 0 Ordinary shares of £10 were allotted to Rankine as vendor, and 0 Preference shares of £10 were taken up
by others

Three years later, when James Rankine had become managing director, the capital was increased to allow an issue to the public of 0 Ordinary shares of £10 each at a price of £20. Despite the premium, the issue had an immediate success. Not long thereafter, the notorious failure of Pattison Brothers, a Leith blending company, created a redundancy of stocks on the whisky market; but prudent management enabled Rosebank Distillery Ltd. to stay the course until July 1914, when Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. was formed to concentrate the resources of five Lowland malt whisky distilleries, including Rose-bank, at a time of deepening recession in the industry.
All malt whisky distilleries were closed, by Government order, from 1917 to 1919, in the interest of conserving barley for foodstuffs. Rosebank was one of the few distilleries that remained in production throughout the second world war.

Rosebank and its surroundings have undergone major changes. In 1875 Murray's Handbook for Travellers in Scotland noted that Falkirk, "a busy town consisting chiefly of one long street", was then celebrated for its great "trysts" or fairs: "about 0 head of cattle are sold on these occasions and are brought from great distances - ponies from Shetland, sheep from Ross and Sutherlandshires, and horned cattle from the Western Isles". Murray added that Falkirk had "of late years acquired importance from its situation on the coalfield, as testified by the number of blazing ironworks and collieries". Today the cattle fairs are a thing of the past. The distillery has lost its original setting of wooded parkland, and is located in an industrial area.

There have been technological as well as environmental changes, but none which has affected the character or the reputation of Rosebank's make. In 1926 the malt mill, the screws and the elevator in the makings were worked by an electrically-driven motor, and the machinery in the distillery was driven by an overhead crank engine of 20 h.p., which was said to have been on duty for almost fifty years. Today the makings have vanished, and all power is supplied by the national electric grid.

Process water is drawn from the Carron Valley Reservoir, and cooling water from the Forth and Clyde Canal. This waterway, a monument to the first Industrial Revolution, built by John Smeaton in1768-73, has been closed to navigation. Its banks have been landscaped by the local authority.

Triple distillation is a characteristic of the process traditional to this distillery. It has one wash still and two spirit stills. Their furnaces were hand-fired with coal until 1959 when a mechanical stoker system was installed. Steam heating from an oil-fired boiler was substituted in 1972. Rosebank is one of the few distilleries to retain worm tubs, used to condense vapour passing up the wash still during the first distillation. They are set in the wall facing the road.

The distiller's licence is held by The Distillers Agency Ltd., of Edinburgh, proprietors of King George IV Scotch whisky and bottlers of Rosebank malt whisky.


THE OLD MALT CASK 50o
Douglas Laing & Co, Ltd

Douglas House 18, Lynedoch Crescent, Glasgow G 3 6 E Q.
In 1949 Fred Douglas Laing established Douglas Laing & Co primarily as a blender and bottler for his Scotch Whisky blends The King of Scots and House of Peers, which are available today internationally.
Large stocks and reserves of aging Malts in particular, were laid down by Mr. Laing, many being guarded for 25 - 30 years specifically for the older blends such as the 25 and 30 Year Old KING OF SCOTS.
With more than 50 different Malts in stock, over the last 50 years from filling programme, it was obvious that the Malt Master would have certain favourites. These have variously been chalked off the times of regular quality control, as being of particular qualitative interest; both commercially, and for the pleasure of the Directors. It has been their particular perk, benefit and privelege to nose and taste some of the finest quality samples indicative of the Distillers's art.
It was judged by the two current owners/directors (sons of the founder, so nepotism is not dead!) that some of these stocks were 'too good to blend'. And so the OLD MALT CASK selection was developed in 1999 to extend those perks and benefits beyond the Director's tasting suite!
Initially it was felt that 50 different Malts commemorating the Company's 50th Anniversary would be approciate. That tally has now been exeeded but our preferred strenght of 50 X ale/vol is maintained. We believe this strenght creates a fine, round, full quality for various Malts when taken 'neat'. It also allows the regular consumer to know precisely how much or little water should be added to this artisan and craftman's distillate.
These selected Malt Whiskies have waited many years to reach their classic heights of qua-lity. Not only with your health in mind, but with a view to greater enjoyment, may we suggest that in the style of the founder, whose signature endorses your Malt, you enjoy its glass leisurely and slowly.

1768 - 1773          
Founded by John Smeaton          
1798                    
Stark brothers operate a distillery
by the name Rosebank
1817                    
James Robertson runs a distillery
named Rosebank
1840                    
James Rankine buys the malting
of Camelon distillery
and builds the present distillery
Rosebank
1845                    
Rosebank expands
1846                    
James Rankine is bankrupt
1846                    
James Rankine continued
1861                    
James Rankine buys the
Camelon distillery on the
west bank of
the Forth - Clyde canal

1864                    
R.W. Rankine, son of
James Rankine rebuilds Rosebank
1865                    
Rankine demolishes
Camelon Distillery but keeps
the maltings
and connects the two sites with
a swing bridge
1894                    
Rosebank Distillery Company is
formed
1914                    
Rosebank, Clydesdale, Glenkinchie,
St. Magdalene and Grange form
Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. (S.M.D.)

1919                    
S.M.D. becomes part of
Distillers Company Limited (D.C.L.)
1968                    
The Camelon maltings is closed
and partly demolished
1982                    
D.C.L. launches the series
The Ascot Malt Cellar with 8 years old                          
Rosebank,  12 years old Linkwood,
Talisker 8 years old, Lagavulin
12 years old and two vatted malts:
Strathconnan and Glenleven
1993                    
Rosebank closes in June
2002                    
British Waterways buys the buildings
in May

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been passed
under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a Society
bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members are
selected, true to our motto: "To leave no nose upturned".

11 September 2013
Arran Brewery secured a 500.000 pound grant from Historic Scotland to bring Rosebank
Distillery back into operation.

Rosebank will open a brewery, micro - distillery and a visitors centre.

Rosebank was closed in 1993.

Proces water was drawn from the Carron Valley reservoir, a public water supply, this
water comes from the Bantaskine tract
Cooling water was drawn from the Clyde canal
Peat came from a moss about 6 kilometres from Rosebank distillery       
The malt used was crushed to grist by an old Robert Boby Mill, overhauld in 1983 and
installed in 1932 and came from Port Ellen
The mash tun was from cast iron   a copper top and with a capacity of 8.8 metric tones.
In full production 8 mashes a week were made and each mashing lasted 9 hours
There were 8 wooden was backs made from Scottish larch, and each with a capacity of
shaped stills, converted to indirect heating by oil firing via steam coils in 1970.
The was still had a capacity of 13.500 litres, the spirit still also 13.500 litres and the inter-
mediate still capacity was 6800 litres
Cooling was done via worms submerged in tubs, made from Scottish larch.
Output was 1.000.000 litres a year

Rosebank is rightly regarded as one of the finest – if not the finest – Lowland malt and yet its fame has, slightly bafflingly, never reached the same levels of hysteria as cult distilleries such as Port Ellen and Brora. Perhaps its meadow flower bouquet, gentle fruits and fresh citrus (derived through its triple distillation regime) are not in line with palates which want the big and the bold  – even though Rosebank’s worm tubs lend the whisky a thick palate texture.

Much of Rosebank’s history – and fate – has been dictated by the canal upon whose banks it sits. It made sense to build a distillery beside the Forth & Clyde, the waterway which linked Scotland’s east and west coasts, and therefore its two main cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh. It made less sense to have a distillery there when the canal was closed and choked by detritus. It makes sense to have a distillery open again now that the canal has been reopened and tourists are coming to Falkirk to look at the Wheel which lifts boats between the Union and the Forth & Clyde – but is it too late?

There are records of a family called Stark distilling on the wider site as early as 1798. In 1817, a distillery named Rosebank was operational for two years, while in 1827, the Stark family re-emerged to operate the Camelon distillery which sat on the opposite bank of the canal.

In 1840, what had been Camelon’s maltings were converted by James Rankine into the new Rosebank. Under the Rankine family’s control, Rosebank prospered. In 1861, the Camelon distillery buildings were demolished and a new maltings supplying Rosebank was built, with the malt being barrow-ed over the canal to the distillery on a bridge.

In 1914, Rosebank became one of the founding members of the Lowland conglomerate Scottish Malt Distillers [SMD] in 1914 which was folded into DCL in 1925.

It ran continuously, bar a brief wartime hiatus, until 1993 when it closed. The reason was not to do with quality – the malt was highly regarded – but the unwillingness of its then owner (at the time UDV) to pay an estimated £2m cost of upgrading its effluent treatment plant. Problems over road access were another contributory factor.

Rosebank could conceivably have been saved had it been chosen as the Lowland member of UDV’s [later Diageo’s] Classic Malts Selection which launched in 1988. After all, an 8-year-old had been part of DCL’s ‘Ascot Malt Cellar’ six years previously when the firm attempted, somewhat lackadaisically, to enter the malt market.

Legend has it that the decision to choose Glenkinchie was because Rosebank was next to a then closed, stagnant, canal and therefore not as much of a tourist destination.

The distillery site was sold in 2002 to British Waterways. There are now plans to restart production, though the new plant cannot be called Rosebank as Diageo still owns the trademark.

1798
Distilling commences in the area,
according to records
1817
A distillery called Rosebank
becomes operational
1840
Rosebank is built by James Rankine
on site of the old Camelon distillery
maltings
1914
The distillery becomes a founding
member of Scottish Malt Distillers
1925
Rosebank forms part of DCL
1988
An 8-year-old expression is launched
1993
The distillery is closed due to the
cost of refurbishment
2002
The site is sold to British Waterways

United Distillers
1986 - 1997
Distillers Company Limited
1925 - 1986
Scottish Malt Distillers
1914 - 1925
Rosebank Distillery Limited
1894 - 1914
RW Rankine
1860 - 1894
James Rankine
1840 - 1860

ROSEBANK DISTILLERY
SET TO REOPEN
October 2017
Rosebank, the coveted Lowland single malt Scotch whisky distillery which closed in 1993, is to be brought back to life by Ian Macleod Distillers.

Rosebank is the third distillery this week set for revival
The company, owner of Glengoyne and Tamdhu single malts, has reached an agreement to buy Rosebank’s Falkirk site from current owner Scottish Canals, and has separately acquired the Rosebank trademark and stocks from the distillery’s previous owner, Diageo.

Up to £12m will be invested over the next few years to bring Rosebank back to production, with spirit running off the stills by 2019 at the earliest.

All equipment will have to be installed in the old distillery building, including three stills for triple distillation, plus worm tub condensers, in an effort to replicate Rosebank’s historic style of sweet, floral Lowland single malt.

Production capacity will be similar to that planned for the soon-to-be-revived Port Ellen and Brora distilleries – somewhere between 500,000 and 1m litres of alcohol a year.

Rosebank ceased production in 1993 when owner UDV (now Diageo) mothballed the site because of the cost of upgrading its effluent treatment plant, as well as problems over road access.

The site was sold to British Waterways in 2002, and the stills and mash tun were stolen during the Christmas and New Year holiday of 2008/9.

SCOTT JACKSON
Life-long Rosebank fan and Falkirk native Scott Jackson was inspired to start collecting whisky by his father-in-law. Now with the site’s reopening on the horizon, he tells Angus MacRaild what made him fall in love with the distillery in the beginning.

Rosebank romance: Scott Jackson has been collecting bottlings from his favourite local distillery for years
Who are you and what do you do?
‘I'm Scott Jackson, I’m operations manager for Ineos Chemicals in Grangemouth. I live in Falkirk with my wife and kids.’

What whisky do you collect and why?
‘I mainly collect Rosebank, my hometown distillery, plus old blends and grains but I've acquired bottles from most other distilleries over the last 30 years. I've been going to Islay for about 20 years so have picked up a fair number from there, particularly Ardbeg and Lagavulin, my second favourite distillery. I got into whisky because I like the aroma, taste and flavour. Also, I've always been interested in industrial history and I studied chemistry and engineering at university.
‘My father-in-law, John Watson, was the operations director for Drambuie, so that combination made it an obvious thing to do. We also had an old neighbour who had worked at Rosebank and I remember, as a kid, him telling stories about working there. My father-in-law helped to cultivate my palate with old bottles that he had tucked away from his career at Invergordon, Inver House and Drambuie. My first Rosebank was a Flora & Fauna from my local corner shop. I bought it for £32 with my Sunday morning papers. That must have been around 1993, about the time the distillery was closing.’

How has being a collector impacted on the rest of your life?
‘When I started collecting seriously it was mainly Rosebank and, although prices were modest by today’s standards, I still felt a little guilty at spending too much on whisky. Especially given we had a young family at the time. Though I'm lucky, my wife has always been supportive. There have been plenty of examples of compulsive and obsessive behaviour and queuing or travelling to get the latest release. I remember staying on Islay and driving up to Caol Ila at 5am to get the single cask Port Ellen that was released back in 2008. The German guys were there already of course, having camped out all night.
‘I’ve seen lots of queue jumping and selfish behaviour over the years but mostly it's been good-natured. In the last few years with the advent of online auctions I religiously scour the sites looking for certain bottles and have had mixed luck, sometimes paying over the odds. I've also gone through most of the stages of collecting behaviour, up to and including having bespoke furniture built to store and display some of my bottles. That all sounds a bit sad but I’ve really enjoyed the experience, the people I've met and the places I've been. I’m also involved in a wee amateur syndicate – we’ve bought and bottled a few casks over the years, which has been good fun.’

Given the prices of old bottles these days, has this affected the way you view your collection? Do you consider it more an investment?
‘Not really. The value, although nice, has never been my main motivation, certainly not in the case of the Rosebanks. At 52 I'm starting to feel I need to open and enjoy more of my bottles; I've got more whisky than I could ever realistically drink. I've yet to sell a single bottle anywhere but with the kids approaching university age I might want to sell some to balance the books. I know a lot of folks get quite hot under the collar about people flipping bottles for profit but I don't give it a second thought. Everyone is different – some buy, sell and collect for profit – that is totally up to them. I do get annoyed when I see people being greedy and doing underhand things to get multiple bottles purely for profit, causing others to miss out. That is disappointing but it won’t be stopped – capitalism at its worst.’

Are you pleased Rosebank will be revived? What are your hopes for the new distillery?
‘Delighted! It’s great for the town and Rosebank and Lowland fans everywhere. Along with the Falkirk distillery, it will be amazing to have two working distilleries in the town. I really hope they do it properly and make a good quality spirit and don't compromise on quality for profit. I know there will be plenty of commercial pressure but a good quality spirit, triple distilled in the traditional Lowland style, would be great. I don't mind if Ian Macleod Distillers (IMD) don’t recreate the original Rosebank profile as it will undoubtedly be different given changes in production methods and raw materials, but I hope they stick to the general Lowland style. I'd also like to see it bottled young, as it was originally. I've had some good old Rosebanks but some really woody ones too, and some cracking youngsters. An eight-year-old, triple distilled, floral, citrusy spirit would be a good starting point. I also hope they don't try to experiment with wood type too much either – stick to the well-established combinations. Having seen the plans that IMD have submitted for planning, the distillery building looks superb and it would be great to think that the old lady will become a hub for culture, distilling and business and a real focal point for Falkirk.’

What are your favourite Rosebanks from a drinking perspective?
‘The younger OBs [own bottlings] from the ‘70s and ‘80s were very good but generally Rosebank has been of variable quality to be fair. That’s one of the reasons it was closed. I think the recent 25-year-old OB was magnificent – a real citrus feast. Some of the SMWS [Scotch Malt Whisky Society] bottlings have been very good too. The last one, 25.70, was excellent – very balanced, sweet and fruity. Certainly not woody in any way, interestingly, as it was finished in a wine cask. Thankfully I didn't pick up any influence from that.’

What are your favourite bottles in your collection?
‘I've always liked the SMWS bottles, especially the earlier ones. I've got most of the 70 they have released so those are fairly treasured, although I'd love a 25.1. I've also got a nice flight of Cadenhead’s Rosebanks from 1989, and have a complete run from eight- right through to 21-years-old from that year, which I’m guessing is probably fairly unique. I also have quite a few King George IV blends from the ‘50s through to the ‘90s which were known to contain a fair bit of Rosebank. I remember as a kid seeing the big name of KG IV on the bond, which is now the Beefeater restaurant in Camelon – you can still see the outline of the lettering on the building if you look closely. Like most whisky drinkers/collectors all of the bottles mean something, but some more than others. I’ve got a Cadenhead 1966 Rosebank from the month after I was born so that's quite special too.’

Missing element: Just one bottle is missing from Jackson’s collection of SMWS Rosebank: 25.1

What would be your holy grail bottle or bottles to find?
‘Easy! SMWS 25.1 [the first Rosebank bottled by SMWS].’

What are your go-to everyday drams?
‘Generally normal strength blends or Highland or Speyside drams, nothing too heavy. I really like Johnnie Walker Green Label which I think is still great value for money. I’d also say, pound for pound, Lagavulin 16 is hard to beat, although it’s a reflective “late at night in front of the fire” kind of dram.
‘Macallan 1958 (Campbell, Hope & King); Rosebank 1981, 25-year-old; 1909 Overholt Rye (at the Old & Rare Whisky Show in Glasgow last year); Lagavulin 1966, 50-year-old (straight from the cask in the warehouse); Royal Lochnagar 1966 35-year-old; an ex-Drambuie bottling labelled as ‘Old Crathie’; and Glencraig 1974 36-year-old (SMWS 104.13).’

What has been the greatest whisky experience of your life so far?
‘A few spring to mind. I managed to persuade British Waterways to let me tour Rosebank many years ago, around 2000. Just me, my father-in-law, the night watchman and his dog. It was an eerily quiet, almost surreal experience and such a pilgrimage for me. I had a wee hip flask with me and toasted the old lady in the still room – a magic moment. From a tasting perspective I have to say that the Old & Rare show last year, and then again this year, have been incredible. To be able to taste some of the legendary drams on offer is truly amazing. The SMWS tasting at this year’s show was an incredible experience – I’ll never forget tasting 1.1, 2.2 and 63.1. The other tasting that will never be forgotten was a “lock in” at Lagavulin a few years back the year they had a 1966 cask in the warehouse. We were treated to a very generous dram of that nectar from the year I was born – a brilliant day for sure.’

‘Rosebank is one of the most respected and sought-after single malts in the world,’ said Ian Macleod Distillers managing director Leonard Russell.

‘As such, this is an extraordinarily exciting project for us. To bring back to life an iconic distillery and quintessential Lowland single malt is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’

He added: ‘We will produce Rosebank Lowland single malt in exactly the same way as it is known, using the famous triple distillation and worm tub condensers. This way we ensure the revival of its classic style and taste.’

Plans also include a visitor centre on the site ‘to help tell the story of this remarkable whisky’, said Russell.

In the meantime, the company plans to release Rosebank single malt bottlings using the stocks acquired from Diageo, which date from the late 1980s and early 1990s.

‘Over the coming months we will carefully review Rosebank’s rare stocks with a view to releasing some truly scarce and extraordinary whiskies,’ said Russell.

The news of Rosebank’s revival comes just a day after Diageo announced plans to restart production at two of its cult distilleries: Port Ellen and Brora.

ROSEBANK BACK TO LIFE
October 2017
First Port Ellen and Brora, now Rosebank… the vogue for reviving ‘lost’ distilleries continues. The Falkirk plant – currently just an empty shell – may be producing spirit within a couple of years under new owner Ian Macleod Distillers.

Rosebank Leonard Russell
Starting again: Ian Macleod MD Leonard Russell aims to recreate the classic Rosebank style
There are ghosts walking among us… We’re not even halfway through the week, and already three ‘lost’ single malt Scotch whisky distilleries are set for revival. On Monday it was Port Ellen and Brora, on Tuesday it was Rosebank. Who knows what the rest of the week might bring?

If Diageo’s plans for Port Ellen and Brora were a bolt from the blue, the resurrection of Rosebank has been rumoured for some time. Here, it was the identity of the new operator – Glengoyne and Tamdhu owner Ian Macleod Distillers – that was the surprise.

Rosebank’s quintessentially Lowland style of single malt, triple-distilled and famed for its floral, high-toned elegance, has made it almost as much of a cult favourite among collectors and connoisseurs as that redoubtable Diageo double act.

The plant closed in 1993, a decade later than Port Ellen and Brora, and, unlike those two, it wasn’t shut down because its spirit was unwanted; then owner UDV (now Diageo) was reluctant to pay for remedial works to the site’s effluent treatment plant, and there were reported problems with road access.

By 2002, Diageo had sold the site to British Waterways (it sits astride the Forth & Clyde Canal); the old maltings were redeveloped and, although there were plans to revive production, Rosebank’s stills and mash tun were stolen during the Christmas and New Year break of 2008/9.

More recently, rumours have swirled about Rosebank’s return, but the huge sticking-point for those who looked at the site was the fact that Diageo still owned the Rosebank trademark. Now that has changed.

‘We’re possibly one of the few companies who could reach an agreement with Diageo for the IP [trademark] and the stock,’ says Gordon Doctor, operations director at Ian Macleod, which has a long-standing relationship with Diageo in terms of providing fillings for blends. ‘I don’t think other people could have done this.’

Not forgotten: If anything, the legend of Rosebank has grown since it closed in 1993

Why didn’t Diageo do it, in that case? ‘Had they still owned the site, I can imagine that they would. They might have been announcing a “holy trinity” yesterday of Brora, Port Ellen and Rosebank,’ says Doctor.

‘In our minds, we had a Speyside single malt [Tamdhu] and a Highland [Glengoyne], so we thought about building a Lowland distillery, and that got us round to saying: “What has there been in the past?” We knew [the site] was up for sale and that someone else had looked at it.’

In terms of that site, Ian Macleod is essentially buying an empty shell following the theft of the equipment. Plans – which could cost £10-12m, Doctor estimates – include the installation of a set of three stills for Rosebank’s triple distillation regime, plus worm tub condensers.

‘We don’t have a schedule as such,’ he says. ‘It’s all subject to planning permission and the regulatory authorities and so on. We’ve already been having discussions with Falkirk District Council, so we’re hopeful that there won’t be too many barriers… I think it would be beginning of 2019 at the earliest [that we start production].’

And is he confident that the company can overcome the issues that led UDV to mothball the site in the first place? ‘We’re fairly sure we can handle it, although the location in the middle of Falkirk makes it more difficult. If you were building or reopening a distillery, you probably wouldn’t choose to do it on that site.’

Rosebank’s planned production capacity will be similar to that of the ‘new’ Port Ellen and Brora: between 500,000 and 1m litres of alcohol a year, almost certainly entirely ring-fenced for single malt.

However, Doctor says: ‘We’re unlikely to be running at full capacity for the first few years. Full production means you’re producing a lot of cases, so you’d have to be pretty confident that you could sell a fair amount.’

Ian Macleod, like Diageo with Port Ellen and Brora, has already pledged to recreate as far as possible the historic style of Rosebank whisky – not easy when none of the kit is left in the distillery.

Existing supplies of Rosebank will fill the gap before production begins again

‘We will go back to the drawings that we will get from Diageo with Abercrombies [the coppersmith] and make sure it’s all built exactly the way it was,’ says Doctor. He believes the records are detailed, but admits that there will be some ‘trial and error’ in the early days of the new plant.

‘We might be able to find some old new make spirit lying in the Diageo Archive,’ he adds. ‘We’re hopeful that we’ll have access to that. We’ve also got samples through the years of Rosebank at different ages.’

For the moment, the focus in on this: triple-distilled single malt in the classic Rosebank Lowland mould. ‘Initially, I think it’s going to be doing everything we can to replicate what we did before,’ says Doctor. ‘But that’s not to say in years to come that whoever’s running the distillery won’t want to try something different. There’s no harm in experimenting.’

It will be some time before we see whisky from the ‘new’ Rosebank, however. ‘I don’t think we’ll be bottling any new make, unlike some others,’ says Doctor wryly. ‘Nor will we be bottling it on its third birthday.

‘It will come down to the spirit quality. If we believe there’s something after five or six years that people might like to taste, then fine. But we’re not driven by profit on this. We’ll bring it out when the time is right.’

As with Port Ellen and Brora, much intrigue will surround the cask policy at the revived Rosebank – an area that has developed hugely in single malt terms since the 1980s and 1990s.

Historic home: Rosebank’s location is not entirely practical in the modern age

‘If you look back at any old, old stock in a distillery, it’s almost a lucky bag if you find any decent casks,’ says Doctor. ‘We found out that going back to Tamdhu casks from the ’60s. You can find some great casks, and some pretty average casks.’

Now it’s all about the appliance of science, toasting levels, bespoke casks coopered and seasoned in Spain. ‘We put a lot more effort into that side of things now,’ Doctor says. ‘It will be experimental. I’d imagine we’d put Rosebank into a variety of casks to see how it will mature.’

For the moment, the company has Diageo’s existing stocks from the distillery to market and sell – all of it distilled in the late 1980s and early 1990s, none of it less than 25 years old. Casks need to be investigated; bottles and labels designed. It’s unlikely that we’ll see a release of old Rosebank stock until some time in 2018.

In the meantime, and as detailed plans are drawn up for the distillery’s new beginning, Doctor has just one more task on his already lengthy to-do list: finding and acquiring more casks of Rosebank.

‘There’ll be other stocks out there with independent bottlers and so on,’ he says, ‘and it’ll be my job to try to repatriate them.

‘Whether I’ll be successful or not we will see… The price has probably gone up a bit since yesterday.’

Rosebank is rightly regarded as one of the finest – if not the finest – Lowland malt and yet its fame has, slightly bafflingly, never reached the same levels of hysteria as cult distilleries such as Port Ellen and Brora. Perhaps its meadow flower bouquet, gentle fruits and fresh citrus (derived through its triple distillation regime) are not in line with palates which want the big and the bold  – even though Rosebank’s worm tubs lend the whisky a thick palate texture.

Much of Rosebank’s history – and fate – has been dictated by the canal upon whose banks it sits. It made sense to build a distillery beside the Forth & Clyde, the waterway which linked Scotland’s east and west coasts, and therefore its two main cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh. It made less sense to have a distillery there when the canal was closed and choked by detritus. It makes sense to have a distillery open again now that the canal has been reopened and tourists are coming to Falkirk to look at the Wheel which lifts boats between the Union and the Forth & Clyde – but is it too late?

There are records of a family called Stark distilling on the wider site as early as 1798. In 1817, a distillery named Rosebank was operational for two years, while in 1827, the Stark family re-emerged to operate the Camelon distillery which sat on the opposite bank of the canal.

In 1840, what had been Camelon’s maltings were converted by James Rankine into the new Rosebank. Under the Rankine family’s control, Rosebank prospered. In 1861, the Camelon distillery buildings were demolished and a new maltings supplying Rosebank was built, with the malt being barrow-ed over the canal to the distillery on a bridge.

In 1914, Rosebank became one of the founding members of the Lowland conglomerate Scottish Malt Distillers [SMD] in 1914 which was folded into DCL in 1925.

It ran continuously, bar a brief wartime hiatus, until 1993 when it closed. The reason was not to do with quality – the malt was highly regarded – but the unwillingness of its then owner (at the time UDV) to pay an estimated £2m cost of upgrading its effluent treatment plant. Problems over road access were another contributory factor.

Rosebank could conceivably have been saved had it been chosen as the Lowland member of UDV’s [later Diageo’s] Classic Malts Selection which launched in 1988. After all, an 8-year-old had been part of DCL’s ‘Ascot Malt Cellar’ six years previously when the firm attempted, somewhat lackadaisically, to enter the malt market.

Legend has it that the decision to choose Glenkinchie was because Rosebank was next to a then closed, stagnant, canal and therefore not as much of a tourist destination.

The distillery site was sold in 2002 to British Waterways.

However in October 2017 whisky blender and bottler revealed plans to purchase the site from British Waterways, and reopen the distillery. The company also separately acquired the Rosebank trademark from Diageo.

Rosebank distillery is expected to be operational again by 2019 at the earliest.

IAN MACLEOD DISTILLERS
Ian Macleod Distillers is based at Broxburn, West Lothian, and owns Glengoyne distillery in Stirlingshire and Tamdhu distillery at Knockando on Speyside. Its principal blended brands are Isle of Skye, Smokehead and King Robert, though a range of independent bottlings are also undertaken under the ‘As We Get it’ Chieftain’s and Dun Bheagan banners. As the world’s 10th largest Scotch whisky company, Macleod’s produce and sell over 15 million bottles of spirits every year.

The firm is a major supplier to the ‘buyers’ own brand’ market and has provided own-label spirits to some of Europe's largest supermarket groups for over 40 years. Macleod’s owns 50% of Broxburn Bottlers, with the other 50% being held by J&G Grant of Glenfarclas. The chairman of Ian Macleod is founder Peter Russell, whose son Leonard serves as managing director.

Peter Russell’s father Leonard started out in business as a whisky broker in 1936, expanding into blending and exporting. Peter joined the firm in 1956, and the name Ian Macleod & Co and its Isle of Skye blended Scotch whisky brand was acquired by what had become Peter J Russell & Co in 1963. Ian Macleod & Co had been incorporated in 1933. The unspecified Islay single malt Smokehead, with a singularly contemporary image, was introduced in 2006.

The company achieved a long-held ambition of becoming a distiller when it purchased Glengoyne from The Edrington Group for £7.2 million in 2003. A second distillery, Tamdhu, was acquired from Edrington eight years later, and reopened in 2012 having been mothballed since 2009.

In September 2016 the company bought whisky blender and gin distiller Spencerfield Spirit Company for an undisclosed sum, adding the Pig's Nose, Feathery and Sheep Dip blended Scotch whiskies, and Edinburgh Gin brand to its portfolio.

DISTILLERIES & BRANDS
Duncan MacGregor
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Glen Tress
BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Glengoyne
HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Hedges & Butler
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Isle of Skye
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
King Robert II
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Langs
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Pig's Nose
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Rosebank
LOWLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Sheep Dip
BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Smokehead
ISLAY SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Tamdhu
SPEYSIDE SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
The Feathery
BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
The Queen's Seal
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
The Six Isles
BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Thomson's
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
ASSOCIATED COMPANIES
Hedges and Butler Limited
Lang Brothers
Spencerfield Spirit Company

ROSEBANK DISTILLERY SET TO REOPEN IN 2020
October 2018
Cult ‘lost’ distillery Rosebank hopes to reopen in autumn 2020 as plans to resurrect the Lowland single malt await council approval.
Rosebank distillery artist's impression
Fresh start: Plans to restart distillation at Rosebank are currently with Falkirk Council
Ian Macleod Distillers, which announced plans to revive Rosebank a year ago today (10 October), wants to demolish most of the old distillery, replacing it with an ‘efficient, contemporary building’, according to proposals lodged with Falkirk Council.
The ‘historically significant’ buildings alongside the Forth & Clyde Canal will be retained and refurbished for use as a visitor centre, café, tasting room, shop and exhibition space.
Rosebank ceased production in 1993 when then owner UDV (now Diageo) mothballed the site; most of the distillery equipment, including the stills and mash tun, was stolen in late 2008, and its maltings were converted into a Beefeater restaurant.
‘It’s derelict now,’ Robbie Hughes, group distillation manager at Ian Macleod Distillers, told Scotchwhisky.com. ‘The pigeons have taken over, doing what pigeons do best. It’s a horrible-looking site.’
Plans for Rosebank’s revival, which could cost up to £12m, were lodged with Falkirk Council during the summer, and Ian Macleod hopes to have a final decision in the next few weeks.
‘There’s a lot of enthusiasm for this,’ said Hughes. ‘The people of the town want this to happen, the council wants this to happen. We’re 97% of the way there [with securing planning permission].’
The new distillery will have three stills for triple distillation, plus worm tub condensers, aiming to mirror as closely as possible Rosebank’s historic and much-loved style.
There are records of the process and new make spirit style from 1970s but, said Hughes, these were of limited use. ‘Things have moved on so much since then … It’s triple distillation, so there are a lot more permutations.’
The only piece of equipment likely to survive from the old distillery is the mill – which was second-hand, coming to Rosebank from Port Ellen on Islay during the 1930s.
Early forecasts that the distillery could be operational as early as 2019 have proven ambitious. ‘I think we’re likely to be operating two years from now, in autumn 2020,’ said Hughes.
The new Rosebank will have a production capacity of up to 1m litres of pure alcohol a year, with no intention to release young whiskies. ‘We don’t need to do that,’ said Hughes.
‘We’ll release the cask when the quality is right, not just to make money … We might look at a smaller cask at eight years, like a Bourbon barrel, if the quality’s right – but it’s more likely to be 10 or 12 years.’
Ian Macleod is still to purchase the Rosebank site – the acquisition from current owner Scottish Canals is contingent on planning permission – but has already bought the Rosebank brand and stocks from Diageo.
The company expects to use these stocks for official Rosebank releases in 2019 of ‘one or two’ single cask bottlings, likely to date from the late 1980s or early 1990s.
When open, the new Rosebank hopes to attract up to 50,000 visitors a year to its visitor centre and distillery tours.

ROSEBANK DISTILLERY GETS COUNCIL GO-AHEAD
January 2019
The green light has been given for work to start restoring the disused Rosebank distillery in Falkirk, 25 years after it first closed.

New era: Work will begin ‘shortly’ to bring Rosebank distillery back to life
Distillery owner Ian Macleod Distillers has been granted planning permission by Falkirk Council to transform the disused site into a working distillery, visitor centre and shop with space for warehousing.

Rosebank, which was first built on the banks of the Forth & Clyde Canal in 1840 as a maltings for Camelon distillery on the opposite bank, was eventually closed in 1993 by then-owner UDV (now Diageo).

Its maltings were converted into a restaurant but the distillery has lain silent since.

Ian Macleod Distillers, which purchased the site in 2017, expects to begin renovation work ‘shortly’, with a view to reopening Rosebank in autumn 2020.

Leonard Russell, managing director of Ian Macleod Distillers, said: ‘To bring back to life an iconic distillery and quintessential Lowland single malt is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

‘Rosebank distillery has a very special place in Scotland’s whisky heritage and we’re committed to ensuring this remains the case.

‘We will strive to replicate the unique Rosebank style by once more employing the unique techniques of triple distillation and worm tub condensers, for which this iconic Lowland single malt is famed.’

Rosebank will be an energy-efficient distillery capable of producing up to one million litres of alcohol per year.

With a range of distillery tours available, Rosebank’s visitor centre is expected to attract 50,000 visitors each year, ‘adding to the town’s flourishing economy and tourism scene’.

Councillor David Alexander, Falkirk Council’s spokesperson for economic development, said: ‘It’s great to see the Rosebank distillery coming back into use and this large investment on the site is to be welcomed.

‘We’ve worked closely with Scottish Canals and Ian Macleod Distillers to ensure that this site can become a great tourist attraction as well as bringing investment to the local economy and new employment opportunities.’

In its purchase of the distillery, Ian Macleod also acquired the remaining maturing stocks of Rosebank whisky from former owner Diageo.

The company will begin releasing limited bottlings from its acquired stocks – all of which was distilled in the distillery’s last few years – later in 2019.

This Lowland malt with its gentle, fruity palate, commands a dedicated following.

Rosebank is rightly regarded as one of the finest – if not the finest – Lowland malt and yet its fame has, slightly bafflingly, never reached the same levels of hysteria as cult distilleries such as Port Ellen and Brora. Perhaps its meadow flower bouquet, gentle fruits and fresh citrus (derived through its triple distillation regime) are not in line with palates which want the big and the bold  – even though Rosebank’s worm tubs lend the whisky a thick palate texture.

Much of Rosebank’s history – and fate – has been dictated by the canal upon whose banks it sits. It made sense to build a distillery beside the Forth & Clyde, the waterway which linked Scotland’s east and west coasts, and therefore its two main cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh. It made less sense to have a distillery there when the canal was closed and choked by detritus. It makes sense to have a distillery open again now that the canal has been reopened and tourists are coming to Falkirk to look at the Wheel which lifts boats between the Union and the Forth & Clyde – but is it too late?

There are records of a family called Stark distilling on the wider site as early as 1798. In 1817, a distillery named Rosebank was operational for two years, while in 1827, the Stark family re-emerged to operate the Camelon distillery which sat on the opposite bank of the canal.

In 1840, what had been Camelon’s maltings were converted by James Rankine into the new Rosebank. Under the Rankine family’s control, Rosebank prospered. In 1861, the Camelon distillery buildings were demolished and a new maltings supplying Rosebank was built, with the malt being barrow-ed over the canal to the distillery on a bridge.

In 1914, Rosebank became one of the founding members of the Lowland conglomerate Scottish Malt Distillers [SMD] in 1914 which was folded into DCL in 1925.

It ran continuously, bar a brief wartime hiatus, until 1993 when it closed. The reason was not to do with quality – the malt was highly regarded – but the unwillingness of its then owner (at the time UDV) to pay an estimated £2m cost of upgrading its effluent treatment plant. Problems over road access were another contributory factor.

Rosebank could conceivably have been saved had it been chosen as the Lowland member of UDV’s [later Diageo’s] Classic Malts Selection which launched in 1988. After all, an 8-year-old had been part of DCL’s ‘Ascot Malt Cellar’ six years previously when the firm attempted, somewhat lackadaisically, to enter the malt market.

Legend has it that the decision to choose Glenkinchie was because Rosebank was next to a then closed, stagnant, canal and therefore not as much of a tourist destination.

The distillery site was sold in 2002 to British Waterways.

However in October 2017 whisky blender and bottler revealed plans to purchase the site from British Waterways, and reopen the distillery. The company also separately acquired the Rosebank trademark from Diageo.

Rosebank distillery is expected to be operational again by 2019 at the earliest.

Ian Macleod Distillers
2017 - present
PREVIOUS OWNERS
Diageo
1997 - 2017
United Distillers
1986 - 1997
Distillers Company Limited
1925 - 1986
Scottish Malt Distillers
1914 - 1925
Rosebank Distillery Limited
1894 - 1914
RW Rankine
1860 - 1894
James Rankine
1840 - 1860

November 18, 2019 redevelopment of Rosebank starts
The 3 stills are replicated from old drawings from Abercrombi & Smith
Rosebank is 3 x distilled in a 15.000 Ltrs wash still, a 7,7 high and 10.000 Ltrs intermediate still and a 8.000 Ltrs spirit still. The swan neck on the wash still is chopped
pff and chapped and the lyne arm is on the side of the neck and the spirit is cooled in worm tubs on the outside.

Capacity 1.000.000 Ltrs
The only remaining part of the old Rosebank and used today is a Boby Mill
Rosebank 30-year-old marks new chapter for distillery
October, 2020
Revived Lowland distillery Rosebank has unveiled a 30-year-old whisky as the first expression in a new series of annual limited edition releases.

Rosebank 30 Year Old is the first global release from the revived distillery

The new Rosebank 30 Year Old is a hand selected vintage from 1990, three years before the iconic distillery’s closure.

In October 2017, Scottish spirits firm Ian Macleod Distillers acquired the Rosebank site and the last remaining stocks. The restoration of the site in Falkirk began in November last year, which includes the construction of a 1,000-square-metre, energy-efficient distillery, a visitor centre, tasting room, shop and warehouse.

Once open, Rosebank Distillery is expected to create 25 full-time jobs and attract around 50,000 visitors a year to Falkirk.

A new limited edition expression will be released every year until the first new Rosebank liquid from the distillery is ready.

Robbie Hughes, group distillation manager for Ian Macleod Distillers, said: “The first global release of Rosebank 30 Year Old is a truly iconic moment for the distillery. It has matured in 62% refill Sherry butts and 38% refill Bourbon hogsheads for decades, patiently waiting to be awoken, and delivers layers of incredible flavour that you won’t find in other whiskies.”

The non-chill-filtered bottling is marked with the words Release One to mark a new chapter in Rosebank’s legacy.

The first 200 people to scan the QR code on the neck collar of their Release One bottle will be given the opportunity to taste Release Two at their nearest high-end bar or whisky retailer in 2021 and the chance to receive an early link to purchase Release Two before the public.

Hughes added: “What makes Release One so exciting is that we’re giving Rosebank fans the chance to join us on this monumental journey over the next decade, as we revive the iconic distillery. With a chance to ‘bank’ exclusive access to next year’s release, we’re not only inviting them to become part of Rosebank’s legacy, but to become part of Rosebank’s family.”

Only 4,350 bottles of Rosebank 30 Year Old will be available to buy globally, priced at £1,600 (US$2,100).

Ian Macleod released two Rosebank single cask whiskies distilled in 1993 through a ballot sale in February this year.

Rosebank Reborn
12th October 2017

We are delighted to revealed our plans to resurrect one of Scotland’s most cherished distilleries, Rosebank. “Rosebank is one of the most respected and sought after single malts in the world,” declared MD Leonard Russell. “As such, this is an extraordinarily exciting project for us.  To bring back to life an iconic distillery and quintessential Lowland single malt is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

In its home town of Falkirk, on the banks of the Forth & Clyde Canal, Rosebank has been dubbed ‘the King of the Lowlands’ and the late whisky writer, Michael Jackson had no doubt that it was one of the ‘greats’. He described its demise as “a grievous loss”, while fellow critic, Gavin D Smith, wrote of the region’s whiskies having: “subtle charm, and none is more charming than the elegant, floral, aromatic Rosebank produced by a triple distillation process in the traditional Lowland manner.”

All this will be preserved, as Leonard Russell explained: “The distillery has a very special place in Scotland’s whisky heritage and we are committed to ensuring this is the case. We will produce Rosebank Lowland single malt in exactly the same way as it is known, using the famous triple distillation and worm tub condensers. This way we ensure the revival of its classic style and taste.”

“Our investment goes way beyond production,” he continued. “We are looking to develop a Rosebank Visitor Centre to help tell the story of this remarkable whisky - as well as safeguard the atmospheric Canal side Bond and its important heritage.”

We have entered into a binding agreement with Scottish Canals to purchase the site and separately acquired the Rosebank trademark.  We are proud to be investing in Falkirk by adding to the town’s flourishing economy and tourism scene.

But perhaps most exciting for whisky lovers as they wait for the reborn Rosebank to mature, is the acquisition of some precious existing casks. “Over the coming months we will carefully review Rosebank’s rare stocks with a view to releasing some truly scarce and extraordinary whiskies,” said Leonard Russell.  “We have no doubt that demand for these releases will be exceptionally high so we already have plans in place to make sure collectors and Rosebank lovers can keep up to date.”

With this in mind, all the latest developments will be revealed on a new, dedicated website where those who sign up will be the first to hear about the release of the rare and collectable bottlings of Rosebank Lowland Single Malt.

For more information, please visit www.rosebankwhisky.co.uk

In conclusion, Leonard Russell said: “We would like to express our gratitude to Diageo for their support in transferring the Trademark and to Scottish Canals for their assistance in our endeavours to revitalise the home of Rosebank.”

INTRODUCING MALCOLM RENNIE, ROSEBANK'S DISTILLERY MANAGER

We are proud to introduce Rosebank's new distillery manager, Malcolm Rennie, an experienced whisky maker ready to start a new journey with Rosebank. With over 35 years of distilling expertise, Malcolm is prepared to make the first batch of Rosebank in 30 years, once our stills are fired up this autumn. Throughout his distinguished career, Malcolm has had experience with a diverse range of brands and styles of whisky – from Islay’s peaty characteristics to Speyside’s rich and fruity flavours.

A NOTE FROM MALCOLM
 
“Rosebank is an iconic distillery, so it is an absolute honour to be given the opportunity to help bring it back to life.”
The whisky is incredibly well-regarded in the industry because of its unique, and somewhat contradictory production process. The triple distillation gives you a light and fruity spirit, but then we run it through a worm-tub condenser which adds real body, texture and weight to the new-make.
Beyond just the whisky, Rosebank represents the life and memories of the local Falkirk community. It’s a town with an intrinsic connection to the distillery – many of whom are reminded of the smells and sounds of whisky at the mere sight of the iconic chimney”
Read more from Malcolm here

THE ROSEBANK REVIVAL CONTINUES

Despite construction delays as a result of the pandemic, the distillery build has moved on apace in recent months, with production planned to begin towards the Autumn.
Externally, the eye-catching new sloping, stepped roof has nestled around the distillery’s 108ft chimney - rejuvenating an icon of the Falkirk skyline and connecting Rosebank’s past with its future.
In terms of the production process, the mash tun has now been installed, as have the process tanks and mill and grist case. In the coming weeks, the three stills will also be delivered to the distillery, in a landmark moment for the brand’s revival.
The stills have been meticulously crafted by expert coppersmiths, Forsyths, to the exact dimensions of those used on-site three decades ago, ensuring every step is taken to emulate the much-loved Lowland spirit of years gone by.

Your support and interest is greatly appreciated. Please continue to check our website and social channels for updates on distillery developments, the building of our visitor centre and releases of exclusive bottlings.

Rosebank Distillery launches rare 31 year old single malt whisky
A rare 31 year old whisky from Rosebank will be released this month.

August 10, 2022
Rosebank Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky has launched a rare bottling drawn from casks that were salvaged before the distillery’s untimely closure in the early 1990s.

The 31 Year Old is comprised of scarce stocks from just before the Falkirk site was mothballed in ‘93.

The team say, despite spending over three decades in casks, the Lowland single malt retains a bright and zesty nose, with hints of lime and lemongrass.

This light, vibrant profile continues onto the palate, where mint and chamomile are met with more robust notes of leather and banana bread.

The dram finishes with long herbal notes, sweet peaches, and a hint of oak.

Malcolm Rennie, Rosebank Distillery Manager, said: “This is the first Rosebank release during my tenure as Distillery Manager and I’m under no illusions as to the importance of this launch.

"The spirit was distilled before the distillery closed its doors and has matured in casks ever since, waiting to be awoken.”

“It fills me with great pride to know that the 31 Year Old will be the last ‘old Rosebank’ release before the distillery is reopened to the public.

Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters stock Scotland’s first sailboat-shipped speciality coffee
"The revival of this sleeping giant is a huge moment for the whisky community, but most importantly for the people of Falkirk who have patiently awaited its return for three decades.”

It’s Rosebank’s second global launch since being purchased by Ian Macleod Distillers and bottles of this rare whisky are priced at £1,800 (70cl).

Purchases can be made directly from Rosebank’s website from Thursday 11 August, and through leading specialist retailers.

To celebrate the brand’s transition from a distant memory back to a tangible reality, and ahead of its official release, Rosebank hosted a tasting of the coveted dram at the famous Kelpies.

Day in the Life: Peter Allison, co-founder of Woven Whisky
Located less than ten minutes away, Falkirk’s Kelpies structures represent the mythical creature of Scottish Folklore.

Invited to the tasting were four leading whisky commentators: Becky Paskin, Brad Japhe, Moa Nilsson, and Thijs Klaverstijn.

Upon sampling the 31 Year Old, Paskin said: “The first taste was mind blowing. It was a rush of exotic fruits, with a subtle hint of cask wood and spice.

"A juxtaposition of styles that makes Rosebank truly unique.”


Irn-Bru launches 'sunshine service' delivery of cold cans and deckchair
Brad Japhe added: “There’s an evolution that happens as it sits in front of you – toasted biscuits, brioche, cotton candy, and grapefruit zest all developed while the dram was in the glass.”

And Klaverstijn noted: “You get depth, richness and lingering spice from the cask, then there’s a tropical grilled pineapple influence – it’s just perfect.”

Speaking of the dram’s eye-catching colour, Moa Nilsson said: “Golden amber mixing with a light straw – the whisky looks so vibrant, alive and inviting.”

When will Rosebank reopen?
rosebank
Copper Stills Installation, Rosebank Distillery, Falkirk, 5th March 2022
The Rosebank distillery is due for completion by the end of 2022, and its official opening will take place in early 2023.

Distillery Manager Malcolm Rennie has overseen the install of three stills made to the blueprints of the originals from pre-1993.


Worm tub condensers have also been installed, each with a hand-made copper coil stretching up to seventy metres in length.

Externally, the distillery retains its distinctive 108ft chimney which is complemented by a contemporary sloping, stepped roof.

This mix of original and contemporary design is reflective of how the distillery is being brought back to life while still respecting its distillation style and local legacy.

ROSEBANK 31 YEAR OLD

Dear willem,

Today, we are thrilled to announce the launch of Rosebank 31 Year Old - the second global release in our annual limited-edition Rosebank Releases.

Bottled at 48.1% ABV, Rosebank 31 Year Old is a rare bottling drawn from salvaged casks before the distillery was mothballed in 1993. Despite spending over three decades in casks, the Lowland single malt retains a bright and zesty nose, with hints of lime and lemongrass.

This light, vibrant profile continues onto the palate, where mint and chamomile are met with more robust leather and banana bread notes. The dram finishes with long herbal notes, sweet peaches, and a hint of oak.

Priced at £1,800, this extremely rare single malt is available for you to purchase from 12:00 noon BST today from our online shop. Rosebank 31 Year Old will also be available from specialist retailers.

Please note that due to ever-increasing demand and to make the process fairer, we will be limiting Rosebank 31 Year Old to two bottles per person from Rosebank.com.

24 MARCH 2022
THE STORY OF THE ORIGINAL ROSEBANK STILLS

Against a beautiful, cloudless sky, Rosebank’s three new pot stills were lifted one by one from a flatbed trailer to dangle high above the distillery, the copper gleaming in the late February sunshine. Each was then carefully lowered through a hole in the roof and positioned in the new stillroom. It was memorable sight, but it begs the question – whatever happened to the original stills?

When the old Rosebank distillery closed on June 30th 1993, the stills went cold, the doors shut and the workers were laid off. The whole place must have felt dead, especially from the outside as signs of decay – missing tiles, broken windows, weeds sprouting from gutters … gradually took hold.

Yet inside, even after the distillery had been sold to British Waterways in 2002, the stills remained as though waiting for some miracle that would fire them back to life. Such hopes had all but faded when Scott Jackson, a diehard fan of Rosebank whisky, was allowed in one night to pay his respects and raise a dram to ‘the old lady’ in the stillroom.

Some years later, just after Christmas 2008, a very different set of visitors arrived. They came at night by lorry not on some whisky pilgrimage, but to steal the copper. When Detective Inspector Hugh Louden of Falkirk CID broke the story of the theft on January 21st 2009, there was disbelief. Had the thieves really walked out with the stills glinting in the moonlight? The Falkirk Herland wondered if the gang had been planning to cash in on Robert Burns’ 250th anniversary that weekend, before remembering it takes three years to make whisky.

Stills Installation

The police claimed “a significant amount of planning would have been involved in order to get into the building, and then set about removing the metal equipment over a period of some weeks.” There was supposedly security on site, but it was hardly Ocean’s Eleven. Those involved in the ‘great Falkirk copper heist’ simply hacked a few gaping holes in the stills before loading up their lorry and heading for one of the less reputable scrap merchants, one imagines. So far, no one has been charged.

With the remains of three pot stills damaged beyond repair, it was surely now Rosebank R.I.P. With its heart ripped out, no one could have dreamt it could somehow survive. But here we are, twelve years on, with the distillery nearly rebuilt, a brand-new set of stills faithfully copied from the original designs, and with Rosebank about to make whisky again.

Rosebank Distillery's history on its present site began in 1840 when James Rankine, a local wine merchant, acquired the maltings of the Camelon Distillery, which were on the opposite bank of the canal to the main distillery. Rankine expanded the distillery in 1845 before handing management onto his son R.W. Rankine. Rosebank became a sought-after whisky among blenders, who regarded it as 'top dressing'. The demand was so great that Rankine Jr. was able to charge blenders rent on barrel space while they waited for their order.

Original bottle of Rosebank
BEGINNINGS
Rosebank Distillery's history on its present site began in 1840 when James Rankine, a local wine merchant, acquired the maltings of the Camelon Distillery, which were on the opposite bank of the canal to the main distillery. Rankine expanded the distillery in 1845 before handing management onto his son R.W. Rankine. Rosebank became a sought-after whisky among blenders, who regarded it as 'top dressing'. The demand was so great that Rankine Jr. was able to charge blenders rent on barrel space while they waited for their order.

Rosebank black and white photo of the original distillery
CONTRASTS AND JUXTAPOSITIONS
Success followed and, by the 20th Century, Rosebank was revered by whisky connoisseurs the world over as 'The King of the Lowlands'. There was a beautiful juxtaposition in one of the lightest, most floral Scotch whiskies ever made being distilled in Scotland's heavy industry Central Belt. This contrast was reflected in the unique production technique of marrying worm tub condensers and triple distillation. The resulting light/full contrast in flavour made it a category defining Lowland single malt Scotch whisky.

Rosebank distillery washbacks
TURBULENT TIMES
However, global whisky sales fell during the Nineties when the doors finally closed on Rosebank. Then owner UDV (now Diageo) mothballed the site in 1993 because of the cost of upgrading its effluent treatment plant, as well as problems over road access. The site was sold to British Waterways in 2002 and the original stills and mash tun were stolen during the Christmas and New Year holiday of 2008/09.

The knocking down of the Rosebank distillery
THE REVIVAL
Then, in 2017, with the fabric of the building crumbling, Ian Macleod Distillers prevented Rosebank becoming a historical footnote when we acquired the derelict distillery site in 2017, breathing new life into the buildings and their surrounding community.

Our mission is to revive the distillery but our interest extends beyond its walls. The distillery was highly prized locally – along with the town’s old brewery it was once Falkirk’s beating heart, generating jobs for local residents who enjoyed the ubiquitous aroma of whisky distillation. We are really pleased to be able to regenerate in this way, bringing tourism and jobs back to the town, not to mention great whisky!

9 NOVEMBER 2022
ROSEBANK TRADITIONAL WOODEN WASHBACKS
At ground level inside Rosebank Distillery upper tun room with a view of the bottom of the washbacks
Rosebank’s three gleaming pot stills stand in pride of place behind plate glass at the front of the distillery. Yet there would be no spirit nor whisky, but for the eight washbacks that will soon feed the stills. On an imagined future tour of Rosebank, let’s swap the sweet scent of distillation for the more earthy aromas of a brewery.

The washbacks are tall circular vessels where the sugary worts are fermented into a cloudy brew with a strength of around 8% abv. They are where a few billion yeast cells feast on the sugars in every batch, converting them into alcohol and CO2 until the alcohol kills them. Hopefully they die happy.

Many distilleries opt for stainless steel washbacks which are clearly easier to maintain, but that was never an option here. “We’ve got wooden ones at Rosebank because that was what Rosebank had traditionally,” says Robbie Hugues, group distillation director at Ian Macleod Distillers.

With everyone committed to recreating the unique flavour of Rosebank single malt, it wouldn’t make sense to mess with tradition. Besides Robbie is a big fan of wooden washbacks which are used in Rosebank’s sister distilleries of Tamdhu and Glengoyne. “We like using wood because in our opinion it gives a good quality fermentation warmth which keeps the heat in in the winter months,” he says.

Malcolm Rennie, Rosebank’s distillery manager, agrees, saying: “I definitely prefer wooden washbacks, and I firmly believe there’s some bacteria that you’ll never completely clean away which is beneficial, especially if you’ve got a longer fermentation.” Whatever goodness that brings to the brew and the newmake spirit would be lost to anyone using stainless steel.

The wood is Douglas fir, or Oregon pine as it used to be called, and those at Rosebank were made by Joseph Brown Vats on Speyside who have been building washbacks for almost a century. Douglas fir grows straight and tall in the American North-West and Canada, and being tight-grained and largely free of knots it is the perfect material.

At Joseph Brown’s, Ron Low explains how they construct the base and the staves in the workshop before assembling them at the distillery, as happened at Rosebank over a few weeks this Spring. They may resemble a giant barrel, but Ron insists “a cooper wouldn’t be able to build a vat any more than a vat-builder could cooper a cask.” Though the two crafts have plenty in common including the use of reeds instead of glue to seal the joints.

Come next Spring, Rosebank’s washbacks will each be filled with 15,000 litres of what will eventually become whisky. In full ferment you might hear a gentle creak from the wood as the brew rises up like a foaming pint, and be warned when the tour guide invites you to take a sniff. At one Highland distillery, the CO2 caused a hapless visitor to jolt his head back so fiercely, his toupée fell into the wash. Whatever it did to the whisky, it wouldn’t do in Rosebank!

OUR WHISKY
Rosebank whisky is a non peated, triple distilled, Lowland Single Malt. It is considered one of the finest Lowland malt whiskies due to the fruity floral style produced through triple distillation. It is also one of the few distilleries that still uses worm tub condensers, something which gives a heavier style to the spirit due to less copper contact during the condensation of the vapour.


ROSEBANK 31 YEAR OLD - RELEASE 2
This alluringly light and vibrant 31 Year Old leads with citrus bursts, soft vanilla and candied almonds. Camomile, berry and baked banana grace the palate, with a signature smooth finish of sweet peach, oak and herbal notes. The second in the global series of legacy Rosebank releases epitomises the qualities that earned Rosebank reverence as 'The King of the Lowlands’.


ROSEBANK 30 YEAR OLD - RELEASE ONE
A hand selected 30 Year Old vintage laid down in 1990.

Soft and creamy on the nose, with layers of caramel wafer, vanilla and nutmeg. Delicate and crisp on the palate with a wonderful balance of gentle syrup, pear and pleasing oak spice. A lingering finish of candied violets, orange and faint mint.

Rosebank Vintage 1990 Travel Retail Exclusive
ROSEBANK VINTAGE 1990 TRAVEL RETAIL EXCLUSIVE
Un-chillfiltered & triple distilled vintage release.

Wonderfully light and delicate with citrus, spearmint and apple aromas; white chocolate and tropical notes on the palate with a crisp rich finish.

Rosebank 433
ROSEBANK 433
At once light and complex, this has a natural cask strength of 53.3%.

Delicate and refined on the nose - with hints of vanilla, mango, raspberry, barley sugar and lavender. Silky and light on the tongue, it gives way to complex flavours of cranachan and lemon, with gentle floral notes, marzipan and faint spice completing the profile. It has a soft, satisfying citrus finish with hints of ripe fruit and oak.

Rosebank 625
ROSEBANK 625
Balanced yet rich, with a natural cask strength of 50.4%.

A warm banana loaf aroma with hints of white chocolate, spearmint, Victoria sponge and dried pineapple. It has notes of shortbread, chamomile tea, dried herb and citrus for a rich-bodied, balanced taste and a wonderfully delicate, tropical fruit, lime and gentle spice finish.

15 FEBRUARY 2022
INTRODUCING MALCOLM RENNIE, ROSEBANK DISTILLERY MANAGER
Introducing Malcolm Rennie, Rosebank Distillery Manager
What haven’t I done?” says Malcolm Rennie, laughing, when asked about his life in the whisky trade to date. It soon becomes clear talking to Rosebank’s newly-appointed distillery manager just how much he has packed into a career that began on Islay in 1987.

“My father was a cooper and we moved to Islay in the early 1970s, originally to Bunnahabhain,” says Malcolm who spent a few years sailing around the world with the Merchant Navy on leaving school, before joining Bruichladdich. He worked on mashing and distilling until the distillery closed, seemingly for good, in 1995, two years after Rosebank suffered a similar fate.

“I was lucky to get a job at Ardbeg when Glenmorangie took over in 1997,” he continues, and during his time there he was seconded to be assistant manager at Glen Moray, the firm’s Speyside distillery. In 2005 he was lured back to Islay to manage Kilchoman, the first new distillery on the island for 120 years.
Malcolm Rennie

As a small, farm distillery with floor maltings and a blank sheet as far as the style of whisky was concerned, it was challenging to say the least. Being a new company with cash-flow constraints, Kilchoman also needed to mature relatively quickly while ensuring it was the best it could possibly be. Essentially “it’s about putting really good spirit into really good casks,” says Malcolm, and credit to him and his team that Kilchoman was a great whisky from the start.

In 2010, he left to help set up Annandale in the Borders near Gretna Green. It was a Victorian distillery that hadn’t distilled a drop of whisky for ninety years, and with no surviving bottles of Annandale it was again something of a blank sheet. With Rosebank, there is still a little of the original single malt out there but no samples of the newmake spirit, so any comparisons will have to wait.

“No-one can really say whether we’ve got it right or wrong until it’s been in the cask for a few years,” says Malcolm who will soon be getting to grips with Rosebank’s unique mix of triple distillation and worm tubs. “I know we can play a few different tunes with them and can vary the flow rates to give a certain style of lighter or heavier spirit. It is the biggest challenge of my career, but it doesn’t frighten me. It’s really exciting

9 NOVEMBER 2022
ROSEBANK TRADITIONAL WOODEN WASHBACKS
At ground level inside Rosebank Distillery upper tun room with a view of the bottom of the washbacks
Rosebank’s three gleaming pot stills stand in pride of place behind plate glass at the front of the distillery. Yet there would be no spirit nor whisky, but for the eight washbacks that will soon feed the stills. On an imagined future tour of Rosebank, let’s swap the sweet scent of distillation for the more earthy aromas of a brewery.

Inside Rosebank Disitllery uppertun room with new traditional washbacks.

The washbacks are tall circular vessels where the sugary worts are fermented into a cloudy brew with a strength of around 8% abv. They are where a few billion yeast cells feast on the sugars in every batch, converting them into alcohol and CO2 until the alcohol kills them. Hopefully they die happy.

Many distilleries opt for stainless steel washbacks which are clearly easier to maintain, but that was never an option here. “We’ve got wooden ones at Rosebank because that was what Rosebank had traditionally,” says Robbie Hugues, group distillation director at Ian Macleod Distillers.

With everyone committed to recreating the unique flavour of Rosebank single malt, it wouldn’t make sense to mess with tradition. Besides Robbie is a big fan of wooden washbacks which are used in Rosebank’s sister distilleries of Tamdhu and Glengoyne. “We like using wood because in our opinion it gives a good quality fermentation warmth which keeps the heat in in the winter months,” he says.

coopers fixing rings onto to wooden washbacks

Malcolm Rennie, Rosebank’s distillery manager, agrees, saying: “I definitely prefer wooden washbacks, and I firmly believe there’s some bacteria that you’ll never completely clean away which is beneficial, especially if you’ve got a longer fermentation.” Whatever goodness that brings to the brew and the newmake spirit would be lost to anyone using stainless steel.

The wood is Douglas fir, or Oregon pine as it used to be called, and those at Rosebank were made by Joseph Brown Vats on Speyside who have been building washbacks for almost a century. Douglas fir grows straight and tall in the American North-West and Canada, and being tight-grained and largely free of knots it is the perfect material.

coopers standing behind the top of newly made wooden washbacks

At Joseph Brown’s, Ron Low explains how they construct the base and the staves in the workshop before assembling them at the distillery, as happened at Rosebank over a few weeks this Spring. They may resemble a giant barrel, but Ron insists “a cooper wouldn’t be able to build a vat any more than a vat-builder could cooper a cask.” Though the two crafts have plenty in common including the use of reeds instead of glue to seal the joints.

Come next Spring, Rosebank’s washbacks will each be filled with 15,000 litres of what will eventually become whisky. In full ferment you might hear a gentle creak from the wood as the brew rises up like a foaming pint, and be warned when the tour guide invites you to take a sniff. At one Highland distillery, the CO2 caused a hapless visitor to jolt his head back so fiercely, his toupée fell into the wash. Whatever it did to the whisky, it wouldn’t do in Rosebank!

BEHIND THE SCENES

Whisky-making is a team effort. It involves everyone working together on each stage of the process, from milling, fermenting, distilling and maturing our signature spirit in only the best oak casks, cared for by our warehouse team until the whisky is ready for release.

Having the right people on board with the necessary skills is crucial to making good whisky, and that’s something Malcolm Rennie knows better than most. Before he became Rosebank’s distillery manager last February, he had made whisky for 35 years at Bruichladdich, Ardbeg and Kilchoman on Islay, at Glen Moray on Speyside, Annandale in the Borders, and most recently at Lochlea in Ayrshire....

A BEATING HEART RESTORED

When our distillery gates closed for the last time, it was heartbreaking for many. "The King of the Lowlands" was no more. Only we didn't close those gates securely enough. In the dead of night,  marauders came, not for our whisky but for the beating heart of our distillery - our mighty copper stills - never to be found.

The end of this story is just the beginning. Rosebank gates opened once more to welcome three new giant copper stills, crafted to the exact dimensions of the old. So now we can create our whisky as we used to, bringing Rosebank back to life.

Rosebank Renaissance

Rosebank Distillery's history on its present site began in 1840 when James Rankine, a local wine merchant, acquired the maltings of the Camelon Distillery, which were on the opposite bank of the canal to the main distillery. Rankine expanded the distillery in 1845 before handing management onto his son R.W. Rankine. Rosebank became a sought-after whisky among blenders, who regarded it as 'top dressing'. The demand was so great that Rankine Jr. was able to charge blenders rent on barrel space while they waited for their order.

Original bottle of Rosebank
BEGINNINGS
Rosebank Distillery's history on its present site began in 1840 when James Rankine, a local wine merchant, acquired the maltings of the Camelon Distillery, which were on the opposite bank of the canal to the main distillery. Rankine expanded the distillery in 1845 before handing management onto his son R.W. Rankine. Rosebank became a sought-after whisky among blenders, who regarded it as 'top dressing'. The demand was so great that Rankine Jr. was able to charge blenders rent on barrel space while they waited for their order.

Rosebank black and white photo of the original distillery
CONTRASTS AND JUXTAPOSITIONS
Success followed and, by the 20th Century, Rosebank was revered by whisky connoisseurs the world over as 'The King of the Lowlands'. There was a beautiful juxtaposition in one of the lightest, most floral Scotch whiskies ever made being distilled in Scotland's heavy industry Central Belt. This contrast was reflected in the unique production technique of marrying worm tub condensers and triple distillation. The resulting light/full contrast in flavour made it a category defining Lowland single malt Scotch whisky.

Rosebank distillery washbacks
TURBULENT TIMES
However, global whisky sales fell during the Nineties when the doors finally closed on Rosebank. Then owner UDV (now Diageo) mothballed the site in 1993 because of the cost of upgrading its effluent treatment plant, as well as problems over road access. The site was sold to British Waterways in 2002 and the original stills and mash tun were stolen during the Christmas and New Year holiday of 2008/09.

The knocking down of the Rosebank distillery
THE REVIVAL
Then, in 2017, with the fabric of the building crumbling, Ian Macleod Distillers prevented Rosebank becoming a historical footnote when we acquired the derelict distillery site in 2017, breathing new life into the buildings and their surrounding community.

Our mission is to revive the distillery but our interest extends beyond its walls. The distillery was highly prized locally – along with the town’s old brewery it was once Falkirk’s beating heart, generating jobs for local residents who enjoyed the ubiquitous aroma of whisky distillation. We are really pleased to be able to regenerate in this way, bringing tourism and jobs back to the town, not to mention great whisky!


10 MAY 2023
FROM THE RANKINE’S TO THE RUSSELL’S

Rosebank has come full circle. What started with one family is being continued by another after decades of non-family ownership in a move that feels right for a small, much-loved distillery whose future lies wholly in single malts.

After a century in corporate hands, Rosebank has returned to its roots as a family-owned and run distillery. It began with the Rankine’s, starting with the founder James Rankine in 1840 whose descendants continued to manage the distillery until a month before the outbreak of World War One. Today it is with the Russell’s, the family behind Rosebank’s new owners - Ian MacLeod Distillers run by third-generation Leonard Russell.

“The idea that family companies are somehow better than corporates, is not necessarily true,” says Leonard. However, on balance, he believes there is something about Rosebank - a boutique distillery with a niche production of high-end single malts, that suits family ownership. It is a special place that needs a little TLC, while for its previous owners it seemed to be just another distillery, an item on a big company spreadsheet.

To be fair, its decades with DCL, the Distillers Co., probably saved it, at least during the first half of the 20th century when so many stand-alone distilleries disappeared for good. Yet Rosebank was always just a cog in the DCL machine, with its fate tied to the company’s blends which it supplied with malt whisky. With its relatively high production costs due to its size, it was particularly vulnerable to any market downturn which is what finally closed the distillery in 1993.

Enlightened family ownership has helped rescue Rosebank, but just as important has been the surge in interest around single malts. The latter has been the making of Ian Macleod Distillers since Leonard bought the Highland distillery of Glengoyne twenty years ago as MD under the chairmanship of his father, Peter Russell who died this January aged 95. “He was very supportive of us buying Glengoyne,” he recalls. “He realised that single malts were growing, and that to own a single malt brand rather just than trade as a whisky broker had potential.”



Then came Tamdhu on Speyside and now Rosebank in the Lowlands. “I couldn’t be prouder of our distilleries, and it’s not just about sales and profit,” says Leonard. “It’s the fact we have a highly-motivated team of professional, marvellous people making whisky.” Rosebank is bound to become better known because its production will be bottled as single malt and not blended away, but the numbers will never be big.

Building the Rosebank name will require a lot of hand-selling in Leonard’s view. “Such single malts often sell through specialist whisky shops and bars, and it helps to build a rapport with them,” he says. “Family companies are quite good at building long-term relationships with like-minded family businesses.”

It’s a sentiment that James Rankine would have recognised because that’s how Rosebank started. Rankine lies buried less than a mile away in the centre of Falkirk – not far for his ghost to wander and meet Leonard Russell at the new distillery. After both had got over their shock, there would be much to discuss before raising a dram to Rosebank’s safe return to family hands.

Join The Rosebank Renaissance

24 JULY 2023
THE FIRST ROSEBANK

The birth of a new whisky stems from its first distillation, and that moment of conception has just happened at Rosebank. While the gestation period for any Scotch whisky is at least three years in wood, it is a huge milestone for this iconic Lowland distillery and the team at Rosebank are excited with what they’ve achieved so far.

A few weeks ago, the production team at Rosebank experienced something they will never forget - the moment of truth when the new distillery was fired into life. “It was a nerve-racking day, and emotional, waiting to see what came out of the stills,” says Jason McCabe, Assistant Production Manager. “There were high expectations, but we were so excited.”

“It’s been a long journey,” he adds. In fact, it’s almost thirty years to the day since the last drop of Rosebank was distilled. Practically everyone had written it off by the time Ian Macleod Distillers saved the building from demolition in 2017, and began rebuilding the distillery. With the Covid pandemic and other delays it has been a tantalisingly slow wait for everything to be ready.

When that day finally dawned in June in the midst of a heatwave, Jason’s colleague Gareth Reid says: “We were all crowded round the spirits safe, sticking our noses in to smell that it was going to be alright.” As the initial run, known as the foreshots, started to flow through the safe they watched intently as it began to lose its cloudiness and run clear to the point when it could be collected as newmake spirit – the first ever from this new distillery.

“Triple distillation should give you a beautiful clean spirit,” says Jason. “With that first distillation, we were nosing it every five to ten minutes until we were ready to make the cut. All of us looked at each other and nodded, it was almost an instantaneous agreement.” Not that it was absolutely spot on at the first attempt, but it was pretty close by all accounts.

“The spirit itself was somewhat bigger, bolder and more complex than I was expecting for the first distillation in brand new copper,” says Rosebank’s distillery manager, Malcolm Rennie. “The spirit will evolve, as more runs go through the stills and that all important copper is activated, which should help introduce even more of those signature Rosebank citrus and floral notes.”

The production process at the new Rosebank aims to be reminiscent of the old Rosebank with the three stills exact replicas of the originals and the same use of worm tub condensers. But before that first run, its quality was impossible to predict. “Nobody knows,” says Jason. “Anybody who tells you how the spirit’s going to be after the first distillation is talking nonsense.”   

As things turned out it impressed everyone and it has only improved since through fine tuning. “Where we’ve got it just now, the spirit’s got all the right notes,” says Jason, who feels relief as well as responsibility. “For me it’s not just a brand or a distillery,” he says. “You have to take on your shoulders that me, Malcolm and the team have got it right.”

What has been distilled cannot be called Rosebank whisky for another three years, and nothing will be bottled until it’s a lot older than that. Choosing the right casks to preserve and enhance the character of the spirit will be crucial. It is early days, but the omens look good. Malcolm talks of “a real sense of achievement and indeed pride for myself and the team,” and says: “Overall, a great starting point for the new Rosebank spirit.”

OUR WHISKY  | OUR STORY  | OUR JOURNAL
Rosebank at the
Distillers' One of One Auction 2023

Dear willem,
We are pleased to reveal that we have an exciting one-off Rosebank donation appearing in the upcoming, prestigious The Distillers' - One of One Charity Auction 2023.
The Rosebank lot features a truly unique bottle pairing of bottles number 1 of the Rosebank 1993 Single Cask 433 and 1993 Single Cask 625, both of which were distilled shortly before Rosebank Distillery closed in 1993.
The two bottles, which have never before been sold together, are presented on a custom-made wooden display plinth made from old Rosebank casks and accompanied by tasting notes, handwritten and signed by Malcolm Rennie, Rosebank Distillery Manager. The lot is offered with a “First Look” experience for two at the newly re-built Rosebank Distillery prior to opening to the public in 2024.
Distillers’ One of One will be held in partnership with Sotheby’s and interested parties can bid at the live auction on the 5th October 2023 in person at Hopetoun House, online or as a telephone bidder. All proceeds will be donated to the Youth Action Fund, which aims to improve the life chances of disadvantaged young people in Scotland or Aberdeen Foyer, which supports people facing homelessness, unemployment, mental health issues and poverty.
Register your interest in bidding here

After almost 30 years to the day since its untimely closure, on the 5th June 2023 Rosebank began producing new make spirit.

For years we have been working to replicate the tried and tested methods of Rosebank’s founding whisky makers. Using archive blueprints, our new stills retain the form and characteristics of the originals. The marriage of triple distillation and worm tub condensers has been reinstated once more – a unique production technique distinguishing our distillation process.

It was an exciting day for us all in the Rosebank team when we fired the new distillery into life. The initial run, known as the foreshots, started to flow through the spirit safe with the team watching intently as it began to lose its cloudiness and run clear – revealing the very first new make spirit from our revived distillery.

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THE STORY OF THE ORIGINAL ROSEBANK STILLS
The Story of the Original Rosebank Stills
Against a beautiful, cloudless sky, Rosebank’s three new pot stills were lifted one by one from a flatbed trailer to dangle high above the distillery, the copper gleaming in the late February sunshine. Each was then carefully lowered through a hole in the roof and positioned in the new stillroom. It was memorable sight, but it begs the question – whatever happened to the original stills?

When the old Rosebank distillery closed on June 30th 1993, the stills went cold, the doors shut and the workers were laid off. The whole place must have felt dead, especially from the outside as signs of decay – missing tiles, broken windows, weeds sprouting from gutters … gradually took hold.

Yet inside, even after the distillery had been sold to British Waterways in 2002, the stills remained as though waiting for some miracle that would fire them back to life. Such hopes had all but faded when Scott Jackson, a diehard fan of Rosebank whisky, was allowed in one night to pay his respects and raise a dram to ‘the old lady’ in the stillroom.

Some years later, just after Christmas 2008, a very different set of visitors arrived. They came at night by lorry not on some whisky pilgrimage, but to steal the copper. When Detective Inspector Hugh Louden of Falkirk CID broke the story of the theft on January 21st 2009, there was disbelief. Had the thieves really walked out with the stills glinting in the moonlight? The Falkirk Herland wondered if the gang had been planning to cash in on Robert Burns’ 250th anniversary that weekend, before remembering it takes three years to make whisky.

Stills Installation

The police claimed “a significant amount of planning would have been involved in order to get into the building, and then set about removing the metal equipment over a period of some weeks.” There was supposedly security on site, but it was hardly Ocean’s Eleven. Those involved in the ‘great Falkirk copper heist’ simply hacked a few gaping holes in the stills before loading up their lorry and heading for one of the less reputable scrap merchants, one imagines. So far, no one has been charged.

With the remains of three pot stills damaged beyond repair, it was surely now Rosebank R.I.P. With its heart ripped out, no one could have dreamt it could somehow survive. But here we are, twelve years on, with the distillery nearly rebuilt, a brand-new set of stills faithfully copied from the original designs, and with Rosebank about to make whisky again.










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