Rosebank 9 Years Old 1992 Cask #1463 (The Moray Malt Whisky Ltd.)

Single malt Rosebank, an independent The Moray Malt Whisky Ltd bottling, aged 9 year old, from 1992, drawn from cask 1463 and bottled at 44%. Just 402 bottles were filled. Built in 1840 in Camelon near Falkirk, in the Lowlands, Rosebank was closed in 1993. Triple distillation and worm tub condensers, a pairing unique to Rosebank, gave the malt its elegant yet weighty style.

Triple distilled through three pot stills and condensed in wooden worm tubs, the make took the Rosebank style. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, lending honey and vanilla under the grass. Younger here, it keeps a crisp, green freshness over light honey. Refill oak flatters Rosebank, holding back its sweetness so the florals and citrus lead. 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.

At 44% it is supple and fragrant. The refill oak lending honey and vanilla, with lemon and cut grass. The mouthfeel is gentle, the honey carried on a waxy body. The finish runs clean, grassy and soft. This is stock from a closed Lowland legend, ever scarcer.