Rosebank, once hailed as “The King of the Lowlands,” made a triumphant return to the world of scotch whisky after a 30-year hiatus in 2023. The distillery, known for its distinctive triple-distilled, worm tub-condensed spirit, also reopened its doors to tourists in 2024, much to the delight of whisky enthusiasts and collectors worldwide.
This article chronicles Rosebank’s journey from its closure in 1993 to its recent revival. We’ll delve into the factors that led to the distillery’s demise, the challenges overcome in its restoration, and the exciting new chapter that lies ahead. Additionally, we’ll explore the unique characteristics of Rosebank whisky, its role in the Lowland whisky tradition, and the anticipation surrounding the release of new expressions from this iconic distillery. Whether you’re a long-time admirer of Rosebank or simply curious about the resurgence of Lowland whisky, this exploration offers a fascinating look at a distillery reborn.
The Canalside Distillery – Early Years
Rosebank Distillery is situated near Falkirk in Stirlingshire, on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Built to link Scotland’s main cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, the Forth and Clyde waterway has dictated much of the distillery’s history, from its early development to its fateful decline.
A distillery was first recorded in Falkirk’s Laurieston district in 1798; established by the Stark family the Laurieston distillery would be short-lived due to water supply issues. In 1817, James Robertson founded the Rosebank Distillery, named for the flowers that grew on the canal banks. Rosebank’s first incarnation operated for only two years, before closing in 1819.
Relocating to Falkirk’s Camelon district, John Stark resumed distilling in 1826 establishing Camelon Distillery on the western bank of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Stark later expanded the site building the Camelon maltings on the canal’s east bank and continued to operate Camelon until his death in 1837, after which Gunn & Co. took over management of the distillery. In 1840, James Rankine, a local wine merchant, purchased the Camelon maltings from Gunn & Co. and converted the buildings to establish a new Rosebank Distillery on the canal’s east bank.
The distillery quickly prospered, becoming a sought-after whisky amongst blenders, who regarded it as a ‘top dressing’ malt, leading Rankine to expand the distillery site in 1845. Silent from 1862-64, Rosebank was extensively rebuilt and modernized with J.W. Rankine taking over from his father when the distillery reopened.
As Camelon Distillery had closed in 1861, Rankine purchased the silent west bank neighbor demolishing the distillery buildings to build new maltings and warehouses for Rosebank.
In 1866 Alfred Barnard, the Victorian writer and distilling historian, visited Rosebank noting the modern distillery was set across two sites on either side of the canal with a swing bridge linking the maltings and bonded warehouses with the main distillery. Barnard also recorded that Rosebank’s warehouses had storage for 500,000 gallons (1,892,705.9 liters).
Rosebank – ‘The King of the Lowlands’
During the 1890s the demand for Rosebank’s malt was so high that sales were on allocation, also allowing J.W. Rankine to charge the blenders warehouse rent for barrel space while they waited for their orders.
In 1894, Rosebank became a limited company as Rankine established the Rosebank Distillery Company Ltd. A founding member of the Lowland distillery conglomerate Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD) in 1914, the distillery partnered with the Clydesdale, Glenkinchie, St Magdalene, and Grange distilleries. Falling silent due to the First World War between 1917-19, as Rosebank resumed production following its wartime hiatus Scottish Malt Distillers became part of Distillers Company Limited (DCL).
In the traditional Lowland style, the malt was triple-distilled which produced a smooth floral whisky with distinctive notes of gentle citrus fruits, while the worm tubs gave the whisky a thick palate texture. A highly regarded malt amongst blenders, by the 20th century, Rosebank had become revered by whisky connoisseurs across the world and was known as ‘The King of the Lowlands’.
The distillery ran continuously from 1919, even remaining operational throughout the Second World War, primarily producing malt for DCL’s blended whisky brands. Faced with a declining blended whisky market and a surplus of maturing stock in the early 1980s Whisky Loch, DCL launched the often-forgotten Ascot Malt Cellar range featuring a Rosebank 8 Year Old expression in 1982.
An ill-fated early attempt to enter the single malt market in competition with The Macallan and Glenfiddich, DCL’s Ascot Malt Cellar range included bottlings from Rosebank, Linkwood, Talisker, and Lagavulin, alongside two blended malts.
Rosebank’s Declining Fortunes
Rosebank’s decline began as roads and railways increasingly replaced canals as the preferred methods of commercial transport. The Forth and Clyde Canal closed in 1963, causing Rosebank’s split canal-side site to become a severe problem for deliveries and collections as road traffic intensified. Rosebank’s No. 6 bonded warehouse on the west bank was sold for redevelopment in 1988, eventually being converted into a Beefeater Pub and Grill.
In 1988, United Distillers (formed after the takeover of DCL) launched the Classic Malts of Scotland series to enter the growing single malt market, by selecting a range of malts to represent each of Scotland’s whisky-producing regions. Despite featuring in the Ascot Malt Cellar range, Rosebank’s fate was sealed when Glenkinchie was instead selected as the Lowland Classic Malt.
Critics argued Rosebank defined the Lowland style of whisky, although United Distillers had clear reasons for choosing Glenkinchie – a whisky output four or five times greater than Rosebank’s capacity; and a distillery situated amidst 87 acres of picturesque East Lothian farmland. In contrast, Rosebank’s derelict industrial setting alongside a stagnant canal, with low production capacity and using uneconomical triple-distillation compared very unfavorably.
A 12 Year Old expression was released in 1991, as United Distillers launched a new range to showcase whiskies from its lesser-known distilleries whose output was normally destined only for blends. The Flora & Fauna range was a themed series of single malt releases each depicting the image of a local animal or plant on the label – unsurprisingly the Rosebank bottling depicted a rose.
Despite this, the distillery was mothballed in June 1993, when United Distillers faced a cost of £2 million to upgrade the effluent treatment plant to comply with European standards deemed the distillery to be commercially unviable. The late whisky writer Michael Jackson considered Rosebank as “The finest example of a Lowland malt…” and regarded the closure of the distillery “…a grievous loss”.
In 2002, the Rosebank Distillery buildings and contents were sold to the British Waterways Board, while the maltings and warehouses were acquired by Westpoint Homes and subsequently demolished for a housing development. The likelihood of Rosebank reopening diminished considerably when the original copper stills and mash tun were stolen by metal thieves during the Christmas and New Year holiday of 2008 – 09, leaving Rosebank seemingly destined to join Scotland’s lost distilleries.
A Rosebank Revival
Following Rosebank’s closure and sale of the distillery buildings, Diageo (successor to United Distillers) continued to release limited edition bottlings including a Rosebank 21 Year Old expression distilled in 1992, bottled as part of Diageo’s 2014 Special Releases. Despite this, Falkirk’s process of urban and environmental regeneration throughout the 2000s, including the dredging and reopening of the canal, installation of the Falkirk Wheel, and construction of ‘The Kelpies’ horse-head sculptures, provoked ongoing speculation regarding a Rosebank revival.
In October 2017, Ian Macleod Distillers simultaneously announced the purchase of the distillery site from Scottish Canals (successor to British Waterways), and the acquisition of the Rosebank trademark and existing stocks from Diageo.
Despite setbacks to the proposed reopening timeline due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ian Macleod released a 30 Year Old expression designated as ‘Release One’ because it opened a new chapter in Rosebank’s history.
Distilled in 1990, ‘Release One’ was aged in 62% refill sherry butts and 38% refill bourbon hogsheads, a limited edition of 4,350 bottles and intended as the first in a series of annual special releases until the launch of ‘new’ Rosebank spirit bottlings.
The Distillery Reopens
Rosebank Distillery finally reopened in 2023, with the first cask being filled in June of that year. The spirit was distilled using stills crafted from exact replicas of Rosebank’s stolen stills. The hope is that these stills will allow the team at the distillery to reproduce Rosebank’s famous profile, which has been long lamented by so many.
Whilst we wait for the new whisky to mature, Rosebank has been sustaining fans on additional special releases. These include:
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- Vintage 1990 – Release Two
- Vintage 1989 – Distillery Exclusive
- 30 Year Old – Legacy Release One
- 31 Year Old – Legacy Release Two
- 32 Year Old – Legacy Release Three
- Rosebank Cask 433
- Rosebank Cask 625
- Rosebank New Make
Whisky fans can enjoy a top-notch whisky tour at Rosebank Distillery right now, with a chance to explore how Rosebank whisky is made at the new, state-of-the-art distillery. You can book your tour here.
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