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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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May 13, 2026 |
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The Time Warp Sessions,
today Rosebank and some maths
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Alas, no Rosebank yet from the new distillery rebuilt by Ian Macleod, rather some recently bottled old Rosebank and very old young Rosebank. Sounds fair enough from the famous double-distilled Lowlander, doesn’t it? So let us go hunting for citrus notes, beginning with the youngest, which also happens to be the oldest in terms of vintage. And by pure serendipity, the oldest one was distilled in the very year the youngest was bottled. You are following me, are you not? |
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Rosebank 1979/1991 (58.5%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #25.3) 
The third Rosebank from the honourable SMWS. It is always a joy to taste these old distilleries at a young age, we remember a 9-year-old Rosebank by Adelphi that had been almost cataclysmic in its violent citrusness. Colour: amber. Nose: a sherry very much on walnut cake and pipe tobacco to begin with, but the bitter oranges are quick to poke their noses through, leading us towards some kind of Andalusian cordial that simply remains to be invented. With water: it is the oloroso, or was it amontillado, that rather dominates the proceedings after all. Walnuts and a little assorted wood smoke. Mouth (neat): powerful and exactly on the same duo of walnuts and bitter oranges, merely enhanced by grey pepper. With water: this time it is the peppered oranges that take over, bringing plenty of vivacity. Smoked beef, chocolate and coffee arrive afterwards. Finish: long, in the continuation of the palate. The aftertaste turns to eucalyptus and a camphory aspect. Comments: magnificently simple, we merely slightly regret not being even closer to the distillate. Mighty sherry!
SGP:562 - 89 points. |
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Rosebank 34 yo 1991/2025 (53.1%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice Heritage Collection, First-Fill Bourbon Barrel) 
Gordon & MacPhail are reviving their old Connoisseurs Choice labels in this very recent Heritage series, here the label we used to call the ‘old map label’. For there was later a ‘new map label’, was there not. Colour: gold. Nose: clearly, this oldest one is also the freshest, the fruitiest, almost the one that feels most like a large family bag of fruit sweets and coconut snowballs, with a tiny touch of crème de menthe. All this is cheerful and lively, and we are in any case much closer to the original Rosebank style here, especially those famous ‘Zenith’ bottlings. With water: a few flowers and herbs come along to garnish the whole rather discreetly. Mouth (neat): the citrus fruits strike first, and they are all there, coated in pepper and a little honey. Grapefruits are especially prominent. With water: this is where it becomes both the zestiest and the most complex. We could draw up a list of every variety of lemon, but that would be a little superfluous. Finish: long, very lovely, pure, lemony, almost refreshing. Comments: merely a little expensive for a ‘refreshment’, but what a beautiful bottle, very purely ‘Rosebank’, never straying a single inch from the distillate’s style despite its 34 years of age. Absolutely splendid and uplifting.
SGP:641 - 92 points. |
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