Rosebank 22-year-old (D.1981 B.2004) Rare Malts / 61.1% / 0.7l
- The Rare Malts selection is a series of bottlings first released by United Distillers (predecessor to Diageo) in 1995 and discontinued in 2005.
Product description
The now iconic "Rare Malts" series debuted in 1995 in the offer of United Distillers (Diageo since 1998), after the huge success of two other series - "Classic Malts" and "Flora & Fauna".
Most of the Rare Malts releases were whiskies from closed distilleries distilled between 1969 and 1981 and aged for 18 to 30 years. Rosebank Distillery closed in 1993 and its history seemed to have come to an end. To the surprise of many, in 2017 Ian Macleod Distillers bought the Rosebank, the brand rights and the rest of the stock from the ruins and announced that distilling would resume. Unfortunately, COVID-19 delayed the renovations and production will not start until 2022. Rosebank has featured in the Rare Malts series three times, and here we present the final 22-year-old release from 2004.
Nose: slightly subdued, apples, pears, nectarines, forest floor, elderberry liqueur, white pepper, lemongrass, a pinch of cinnamon, notes of wax, peat and oak.
Taste: slightly mineral, bananas, mango, pink grapefruits, apples, milk chocolate, vanilla, roasted nuts and almonds, candied ginger, a bit of pepper and oak.
Finish : quite long, with notes of honey, vanilla, citrus, fresh herbs, pine needles and oak tannins.