Rosebank

[CorvallisCracker]

A lowland distillery, shutdown since 1993, but still extant. Something of a legend among fans of lowland SMS.

Is anyone familiar with this particular bottling: Whisky Galore 1990/2003 Sherry finish?

[mier]

I don`t know the sherry finish but i`ve some others,8yo and 10yo,which are very light,fruity fresh and grassy bottlings.Rosebank is getting very rare,if you find a bottle it costs you about between 90&150 euro if you`re lucky.The lowlands whiskies are/were very nice to drink,i still have some (old)Bladnoch,Littlemill and St.Magdalene left so if you are ever around hop in.

Eric.

[CorvallisCracker]

I don`t know the sherry finish but i`ve some others,8yo and 10yo,which are very light,fruity fresh and grassy bottlings.Rosebank is getting very rare,if you find a bottle it costs you about between 90&150 euro if you`re lucky.The lowlands whiskies are/were very nice to drink,i still have some (old)Bladnoch,Littlemill and St.Magdalene left so if you are ever around hop in.

Eric.

It's priced at $78 (which I guess is about 51 Euros).

Haven't found much except these notes by Serge Valentin:

Rosebank 13 yo 1990/2003 sherry (46%, Whisky Galore) The nose is very perfumy, smooth and rounded. The mouth is sweet and, again very rounded. Very satisfying, but Rosebank’s usual markers aren’t there (citrus). Could have been a Speysider. 82 points.

As for that score of 82, that's actually pretty good. Valentin is one of the "Malt Maniacs" and I figured out a number of things about those guys a while ago.

1. They use a true 100 point scale (I've seen scores as low as 24), so it's a bit "spread out" compared to other 100 point rating systems. A 90 from one of these guys is roughly equivalent to 95 on another system.

2. They are very partial to the peatier Islays, favoring Ardberg, followed closely by Laphroaig and Lagavulin, and this bias affects their evaluation of other whiskies. They are only partially credible for highland malts, and not very for anything else (lowland SMS, Irish, Canadian or US).

Here's some of their scores for bourbon:

82 Hirsch 16

80 Hirsch 20

79 Blantons

73 Bulliett

77 GTS 2003

82 GTS 65.9 (year?)

85 GTS Fall 2005

83 GTS 2005 KY release

84 GTS 70.3 (year?)

71 ORVW 10/90

75 Weller Antique

83 PVW 15

84 PVW 20

81 VWFRR

74 Weller Centennial

74 WT NAS/101

Obviously their scores need to be taken with a dram of saline.

So buying a bottle of the Rosebank is very tempting; however, I just spent $109 US on three bottles of whiskey this weekend, and need to buy some other stuff while it's on sale this month (hey it's Cinco de Mayo, we're out of Milagro, and it's on sale for $26).

Maybe next month. There are three very dusty bottles of it, so I think it's safe to wait.

[mier]

I know some of the malt maniacs and you can say that if it ain`t smsw particually heavily peated ones their judgement is a bit cloudy,but the rating system they use is very practical.Seems the prices in the US are lower than in the EC,for US$78 it is almost a bargain.If i can advise you buy a bottle soon it is getting rarer every week in Europe,it is a collectors item nowadays so a lot of people don`t open their bottle just to make a few bucks over a few years(and missing a chance to ever drink this nice whisky),a waste if you ask me,i couldn`t stand a closed bottle:yum: in my cabinet for so many years.

Eric.

[CorvallisCracker]

$78 it is almost a bargain.If i can advise you buy a bottle soon it is getting rarer every week in Europe,it is a collectors item nowadays so a lot of people don`t open their bottle just to make a few bucks over a few years

Paranoia got the better of me and I bought one today. I keep seeing other posts referencing whiskey being sold on eBay and expressing the suspicion that the seller got their information from this forum. I note that of the 87 people currently reading this forum only eleven are members, and I'm sure that among the other 76 a number are up to no good.

i couldn`t stand a closed bottle:yum: in my cabinet for so many years.

Eric.

Would it upset you to hear that I have a bottle of 20yo A.H. Hirsch that I bought in late 1994 and still haven't opened?

I will eventually. I have no intention of selling it.

[mier]

Ever plan to open it?Just imagine you never do that and you die,you never had any taste of it:bigeyes: .

On auction sites nowadays you have to be very careful,a lot of bottles are fake ones,there is a list of forgers circulating on the net,most of them(not all!) are Italians.I`ll look for the list if i could only remember where i saw it.

Eric.

[RWBadley]

Would it upset you to hear that I have a bottle of 20yo A.H. Hirsch that I bought in late 1994 and still haven't opened?

I will eventually. I have no intention of selling it.

I still have a bottle also. Tho' I had eight at one time and have worked my way through all of them. You should open it. It will need some time in the glass to open up. Once you open it be sure not to leave it at 1/4 full for too long. A buddy of mine left his for several years and it gave up and went soft.

RE: Rosebank. Great stuff. I've had several. The latest is a 15 yo from '91 I think. Really lovely Lowlander. Worth seeking out.

Cheers,

RW

[AVB]

I've got a Cadenhead Cask Strength bottling of an 11 yo from 2001. At 115 proof it holds up well to an ice cube or two and was some seriously good stuff. I paired it with a Monte #4 and they matched exceptionally well.