Rosebank 21 Years Old 1981 (SMWS 25.26)

Scotch Malt Whisky Society selected this Rosebank, a 21 year old Lowland malt, from 1981, drawn from cask 25.26 and bottled at 64.2%. The outturn was 570 bottles. Rosebank, first established in 1840 on the banks of the canal in the central Lowlands, was silenced in 1993. After closure the site fell derelict, and thieves even took the copper stills in 2008.

The spirit was run three times through copper pot stills, then cooled in worm tubs, for the refined Lowland style quite its own. An Oloroso butt held it, sherry meeting the grassy Lowland spirit. Past a decade and a half the florals deepen into honey and soft tropical fruit. Time in the cask deepens the delicate spirit into honey, tropical fruit and beeswax. History on the site runs back to the Stark brothers in 1798, before Rankine's 1840 distillery.

At cask strength 64.2% it is full bodied. The Oloroso brings dried fruit, fig and a nutty depth, and green apple and a floral lift sit alongside soft vanilla and honey from the cask. A green apple and a herbal note lift it. A delicate, fruity finish lingers long. This is a revered triple distilled malt from a distillery silent for thirty years.