{"product_id":"rosebank-1979-gordon-macphail-connoisseurs-choice-highland-single-malt-scotch-whisky-1993-70cl","title":"Rosebank 1979 Gordon \u0026 Macphail Connoisseurs Choice Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (1993) 70cl","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 28px;\"\u003eRosebank 1979 Gordon \u0026amp; Macphail Connoisseurs Choice Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (1993) 70cl\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA rare bottle of Rosebank before the re-opening in it's original direct fire still production that through the test of time, continue to be highly sought after as whisky in this way, is not going to be made again or will releases likely be at these levels but rather, focus on the higher age statements for Rosebank.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eOriginally established back in 1840, Rosebank ceased production in 1993 when former owner UDV [now Diageo], mothballed the site. After 25 years of silence, the Rosebank brand has been resurrected by Ian Macleod Distillers. From the pre-1993 period, bottlings are very scarce, with most being released by independent bottlers such as Gordon \u0026amp; MacPhail. This particular one was laid down in 1979 and bottled for the celebrated Connoisseurs Choice series in 1993.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTasting Notes \u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eNose : First some completely dried out bouillons. Then champagne that's lost its bubbles, and some faint spices and varnished wood. Smells a bit watery. \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eTaste : A round profile with a watered down, yet still quite rich, spicy sherry bite that's very different than contemporary sherry casks.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eFinish : Slightly dry, with faint sherry oak. Here you really feel the 40%, sadly.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout Rosebank\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis Lowland malt with its gentle, fruity palate, commands a dedicated following.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMuch of Rosebank’s history – and fate – has been dictated by the canal upon whose banks it sits. It made sense to build a distillery beside the Forth \u0026amp; Clyde, the waterway which linked Scotland’s east and west coasts, and therefore its two main cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh. It made less sense to have a distillery there when the canal was closed and choked by detritus. It makes sense to have a distillery open again now that the canal has been reopened and tourists are coming to Falkirk to look at the Wheel which lifts boats between the Union and the Forth \u0026amp; Clyde – but is it too late?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are records of a family called Stark distilling on the wider site as early as 1798. In 1817, a distillery named Rosebank was operational for two years, while in 1827, the Stark family re-emerged to operate the Camelon distillery which sat on the opposite bank of the canal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1840, what had been Camelon’s maltings were converted by James Rankine into the new Rosebank. Under the Rankine family’s control, Rosebank prospered. In 1861, the Camelon distillery buildings were demolished and a new maltings supplying Rosebank was built, with the malt being barrowed over the canal to the distillery on a bridge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1914, Rosebank became one of the founding members of the Lowland conglomerate Scottish Malt Distillers [SMD] in 1914 which was folded into DCL in 1925.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt ran continuously, bar a brief wartime hiatus, until 1993 when it closed. The reason was not to do with quality – the malt was highly regarded – but the unwillingness of its then owner (at the time UDV) to pay an estimated £2m cost of upgrading its effluent treatment plant. Problems over road access were another contributory factor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRosebank could conceivably have been saved had it been chosen as the Lowland member of UDV’s [later Diageo’s] Classic Malts Selection which launched in 1988. After all, an 8-year-old had been part of DCL’s ‘Ascot Malt Cellar’ six years previously when the firm attempted, somewhat lackadaisically, to enter the malt market.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLegend has it that the decision to choose Glenkinchie was because Rosebank was next to a then closed, stagnant, canal and therefore not as much of a tourist destination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distillery site was sold in 2002 to British Waterways.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever in October 2017 whisky blender and bottler revealed plans to purchase the site from British Waterways, and reopen the distillery. The company also separately acquired the Rosebank trademark from Diageo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRosebank distillery is expected to be operational again by 2019 at the earliest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e40% ABV\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70cl\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Rosebank","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52783497838930,"sku":"000474","price":879.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1052\/9737\/9666\/files\/4747360343_9fa866f5-1843-451b-8e5e-0cb254f371a2.jpg?v=1771923578","url":"https:\/\/whiskysituation.co.uk\/products\/rosebank-1979-gordon-macphail-connoisseurs-choice-highland-single-malt-scotch-whisky-1993-70cl","provider":"Whisky Situation","version":"1.0","type":"link"}