Rosebank distillery

Rosebank whisky

2007 - A 25yo OB from 1981 is released by Diageo as part of the 'Special Releases' range.
 
2009 - An odd piece of 'news' starts circulating in the whisky media about the 'final' demise of the Rosebank distillery due to the theft of some copper distillery equipment by some of the more criminal elements of Scottish society. As far as I know, the distillery buildings were sold for redevelopment in 2002, so that's a bit odd...
 

1) I'm not entirely sure if they used a different name for Rosebank beforehand, but in 1894 the name was officially changed to Rosebank Distillery Ltd.

2) In the beginning of 2009 some reports emerged in the media that most of the copper equipment at the silent Rosebank distillery had been stolen, making it highly improbable that the distillery would ever resume production. That's a little odd, because the distillery buildings had been sold for redevelopment in 2002. I would imagine that
a) Diageo would have already cannibalised the copper equipment before selling the distillery in 2002, and
b) if the distillery site was obtained in 2002, at least SOME building work would have been done by now.

3) The maltings which were reconstructed in 1968 used to be a separate distillery under the name Camelon.
 

Rosebank 18yo 1990/2008 (46%, Chieftain's, Sherry Butt, cask #614, 312 Bts.)
Nose: Fruity and sherried with a hint of pine. Granny Smith apples - sour rather than sweet.
More malty notes after a few minutes, followed by organics and spices. Something metallic.
Taste: Smooth, sweet and quite hot in the start. Beery bitterness in the centre. Hardly any tannins here.
Harsher in the centre and finish with some simple woody notes emerging. Feels more like a bourbon cask.
Score: 81 points - which isn't a very high score for a Lowlander this old - from a sherry cask no less.

Rosebank 16yo 1991/2008 (55.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland, C#402, 249 Bts.)
Nose: Oy… Cardboard with light citrus overtones. Quite a shock. Growing complexity, but fairly subtle.
Taste: Round and smooth - Irish? Seems weak. Something faintly perfumy at the end of the finish.
Score: 80 points - borderline recommendable; I've tasted far worse bottlings of Rosebank whisky.

Rosebank 25yo 1981/2007 (61.4%, OB)
Nose: A punchy nose. Whiffs of tobacco and bicycle repair shop. Slowly exposing fruity complexities.
A whiff of beer? Sweetish undercurrent. With water the nose grows more prickly. More rubber emerging?
Taste: Solid sweetness; brilliant mouth feel. Just the right amount of tannins (for me) in the finish.
Weelll... Perhaps they are a little bit much… In the end they sadly evolve into the 'plywood' variety.
Score: 84 points - the 'plywood' finish (cheap casks?) kept it out of silver medal territory.

Rosebank 14yo 1991/2006 (46%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Bourbon barrel #2024, 305 Bts.)
Nose: Fresh. Opens up nicely with organics. Some fruits - apple? Quite complex for a Lowlander.
A light malt that offers more depth if you dig a little deeper. You have to work at this Rosebank though...
Taste: A touch of liquorice on the palate? Not exactly my 'type' of malt, but enjoyable enough to reach the 80's.
Score: 85 points - when I gave it enough time it finally limped into 'upper 80's' territory in the MM Awards 2006.

Rosebank 1990/2005 (46%, Berry Bros & Rudd, Casks #1518-1519-1520)
Nose: Sweet and lemony. Fairly bland, to tell you the truth. Or maybe I should say 'light'? Needs time.
Taste: Soft and sweet start. Starts sucking in your gums quickly. Very dry in the finish. Accessible.
Score: 76 points - pleasant enough mouth feel, but not spectacular in the nose - although it powers up.

Rosebank 13yo 1990/2004 (46%, Whisky Galore)
Nose: Very similar to the McGibbons Bladnoch; grainy and oily but not as sour and sharp.
Not quite as powerful either. Sweetish. Leafy. Menthol? Nutmeg? A little too flat and faint.
That being said, the nose grows bigger and sweeter with time, earning it some extra points.
Taste: Sweetish start, growing rather gritty towards the centre. Oily. Mocca? Coffee?
In this case I like the taste more than the nose, even though it gets very woody eventually.
Score: 74 points - it improves with time but I'd still have to classify this as 'sub-standard'.

Rosebank 12yo 1991/2004 (43%, Signatory Vintage, D. 27/11/91, B. 5/2/04, Casks #4700-02, 35cl)
Nose: Grainy and a little sweet. Veggy in the back of the nose. Faint sweet apple notes.
Prickly. Cider. Granny smith or golden delicious. I can't say I find the 'typical' Lowland citrus here.
It didn't make a big impression during the movie but upon closer inspection it's quite good.
Taste: Sweet, smooth start. Sweet and fruity on the palate with a hint of pine in the background.
Score: 75 points - which isn't that bad at all for such a young Lowlander.

Rosebank 10yo 1992/2002 (46%, Murray McDavid, MM 1413, Bourbon Casks)
Nose: Citrus & paint thinner. Orange skins. Sweeter & polished with time. Coastal & salty in the background.
Taste: Fairly weak start. Definite citrus. Sweet & sour like lemonade; hot centre. Bone dry finish; a tad winey.
Score: 72 points - perhaps ten years is just not long enough to infuse this Lowlander with enough character?

Rosebank 20yo 1981/2002 (62.3%, UD Rare Malts)
Nose: Sweet and malty. Subtle spices emerge after adding water - and perhaps the faintest organics.
Veggier after a few minutes of breathing. Like its 1979/1999 sister bottling from UDRM, it's quite complex.
Taste: Matches the initial impression very closely; sweet and malty with a slightly smoky undercurrent.
Surprisingly drinkable at cask strength. After adding water some tannins reveal themselves in the finish.
Score: 88 points - I have a sweet tooth, so I liked this even better than its 1979/1999 predecessor.

Rosebank 20yo 1979/1999 (60.3%, UDRM, 70cl)
Nose: Smells like the attic of a grain warehouse. Wash in a washback. Salt. Vanilla. Menthol and some smoke.
Taste: Lemon. Sweet. Orange skin. I'm afraid these are all the notes I have on the palate - I got distracted.
Score: 87 points - my meagre notes don't do justice to the complexity of this dram. Great stuff.
I enjoyed this dram at the end of a long summer day in Inverness with a bunch of other malt maniacs.

Rosebank 8yo 1983/1992 (43%, OB, Bristol Brandy Company, American Oak Casks, 70cl)
Nose: Soft and fresh; something lemony. Sweeter and heavier after a few minutes. Becomes very fragrant.
Taste: Not as spectacular. Particularly dry. Clean and a little bit sweet.
Score: 73 points - if memory serves this was the first bottle of Rosebank I ever bought.
 

And there's more to tell about Rosebank...

These were not all (official & independent) bottlings of Rosebank Scotch whisky I've tried over the years.
Besides, these tasting notes only reflect my own, personal opinion; your tastes might be different from mine.
Fortunately, you can find the scores and tasting notes from up to two dozen other whisky lovers in the 'Malt Maniacs Monitor' - an independent whisky database with details on more than 15,000 different whiskies from Scotland and the rest of the world. Visit the Rosebank page on the MMMonitor and select 'scorecard view' if you want to know how other whisky lovers felt about the dozens of Rosebank expressions that were released in recent years. However, if you'd like to learn more about whisky in general (and single malt Scotch whisky in particular), you might want to check out the Beginner's Guide to Scotch whisky (10 chapters filled with everything you need to fully enjoy and appreciate a glass of single malt whisky) or the mAlmanac (sort of a rudimentary whisky shopping guide.)