Rosebank 22 Years Old 1978 The Old Malt Cask (Douglas Laing)

Douglas Laing bottled this Rosebank single malt, a 22 year old Lowland malt, from 1978 and bottled at 50%. Just 444 bottles were filled. Rosebank, opened in 1840 at Falkirk, on the Lowland canal side, was closed in 1993 and long mourned. The stills ran once more from 2023, but this whisky predates the revival.

Drawn off after a third distillation and condensed slowly in worm tubs, the make took the Rosebank style. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak that lets the florals lead. Past twenty years the spirit turns honeyed and tropical while keeping its finesse. Patient maturation turns the grassy new make towards marzipan and soft tropical fruit. History on the site runs back to the Stark brothers in 1798, before Rankine's 1840 distillery. The closed era stock is finite, and every bottle drawn is one fewer left. Rosebank stood on the Forth and Clyde Canal, which once carried its casks to market.

At a full 50% it is intense yet elegant. Marzipan and soft tropical fruit meet honeyed oak sweetness underneath. Beneath it run lemon, grass and a waxy weight. A delicate, fruity finish lingers long. This is a revered triple distilled malt from a distillery silent for thirty years.