Rosebank 21 Years Old SMS The Roses Edition 2 (Speciality Drinks Ltd)

Speciality Drinks Ltd bottled this Rosebank single malt, aged 21 year old, and bottled at 51.6%. Only 661 bottles were released. Founded by James Rankine in 1840 on the banks of the canal in the central Lowlands, Rosebank was silenced in 1993. Ian Macleod bought the site, the trademark and the last casks from Diageo in 2017.

The spirit was run three times through copper pot stills, then cooled in worm tubs, for the elegant, floral style that crowned it King of the Lowlands. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding only a light honeyed sweetness. Around two decades the malt gains a waxy weight over its floral core. Triple distillation strips heavy congeners, concentrating light esters such as ethyl hexanoate, giving pear and apple notes. Its final vintages of the early 1990s are among the most sought after of all Lowland malts. The malt was matured slowly in the temperate Lowland climate before bottling.

At a hearty 51.6% it carries real weight. Marzipan and soft tropical fruit meet soft vanilla and honey from the cask. Beneath it run lemon, grass and a waxy weight. It finishes clean, fragrant and bright. This is spirit from the lost years of Rosebank, finite for good.