Rosebank 11 Years Old 1989 McGibbon’s Provenance (Douglas McGibbon)

From Douglas McGibbon comes this Rosebank, aged 11 year old, from 1989 and bottled at 43%. Founded by James Rankine in 1840 on the banks of the canal in the central Lowlands, Rosebank was silenced in 1993. Diageo's Rare Malts sealed its cult status.

The spirit was run three times through copper pot stills, then cooled in worm tubs, for a light, ester rich spirit with unusual body. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding only a light honeyed sweetness. At a youthful age the florals are lively and the fruit clean. Triple distillation strips heavy congeners, concentrating light esters such as ethyl hexanoate, giving pear and apple notes. The malt was matured slowly in the temperate Lowland climate before bottling. Few lost distilleries are mourned, or bottled, as devotedly as Rosebank. Laid down before 1993, this is spirit from a distillery silent for three decades. History on the site runs back to the Stark brothers in 1798, before Rankine's 1840 distillery.

Bottled at 43%, it is rounded. Honeysuckle and lemon zest meet soft vanilla and honey from the cask. Soft citrus and orchard fruit sit behind the sweetness. It finishes clean, fragrant and bright. This is spirit from the lost years of Rosebank, finite for good.