Mothballed since 1993, and looking more and more like it will be forever closed, Rosebank is a distillery whose whisky is absolutely worth hunting now before the clock truly strikes midnight for the average consumer. Triple distilled in the traditional Lowland style, aged in a refill sherry hogshead, this whisky has been delivered unto to us fans (some may call me more of an obsessive) of closed distilleries by the fine independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail.
Distilled in 1991, bottled in 2008 at 55.3% ABV, and procured at Boston's venerable Federal Wine & Spirits on my trip there in late 2010, this whisky has been testing my restraint and tantalizing my taste buds for over a year now.
So if you are prepared to hunt this expression, or enjoy vicarious whisky-masochism, please do read on. If not, well, keep your eyes open for it at the finer purveyors of single malts and please read away anyway.
Nose: Candied fruits and brown sugar waft from the glass along with the faintest notes of black pepper. This is laid over rich wood and moss, serving to conjure thoughts of walking through an old forest in autumn.
Palate: Exploding out of the starting gate with a burst of spice and a deep sherried nuttiness, all underpinned by the faintest dark cocoa, this whisky is a full workout for any tongue. The candied fruits reveal themselves slowly through the luxuriously coating mouthfeel, eventually offering up oranges and pineapples. Adding water serves to diminish the heat of this cask strength bottling without effect on the mouthfeel, and only a moderate elevation of the orange notes.
Finish: Long and ever evolving, the wood does carry on for some time before fading to allow the almond notes of the sherry to linger even longer. Dry throughout, even the addition of water does little to diminish this characteristic, but it does serve to heighten and further develop the almonds and chocolate.
Overall: I love this whisky, Rosebank, and what Gordon & MacPhail did with it. Simply stunning, the character changes constantly over the course of the full hour it seems to take to truly open up, if one can keep it in the glass that long. Exciting from start to finish, this one is a must buy for any whisky fan.
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