Once called “The King of the Lowlands,” Scotland’s Rosebank Distillery was founded in 1840, shuttered in 1993, and refurbished around 2020. Since then, new owners Ian Macleod Distillers have dripped out rare offerings from pre-closure casks, starting with a well-received 30 year old single malt. We previously covered the (fantastic) 31 year old, bottled in 2022.
And now, Rosebank’s “Legacy Series” rounds out its trilogy with a 32 year old, once again blended from an undisclosed but undoubtedly small parcel of vintage barrels. It was actually bottled back in 2023, but the whisky is just now being made available in the American market. (In highly limited quantities, of course.)
Back then, the whisky was produced nearly identically to how the new-look Rosebank makes it today: triple distillation with worm tub condensers, a combo unique in Scotch production. So how did more than three decades in cask treat this particular offering?
Let’s find out.
Rosebank 32 Years Old Review
The nose kicks off just a tiny bit chemical at first, as if the early vapors were the last vestiges of some bygone cleaning solution. And then, suddenly, it blossoms. Elegant honeyed sweetness, almond extract, and light touch of cinnamon-infused simple syrup highlight aromas remarkably delicate for 32 years in cask. Fruit builds and eventually coalesces with confectionary notes — in time, this ends up smelling a lot like Taiwanese pineapple cakes, crossed with lemon meringue pie. Some green and vegetal notes lie even further in, but they’re almost afterthoughts, like a sprig of mint atop a fruit tart.
The first time I sampled Rosebank 32, I was lucky to do so alongside a pour of Rosebank 31. Comparison may be the thief of joy, but this particular side-by-side left me pretty happy. Next to its predecessor, the 32 starts off perhaps a touch creamier. It’s also slightly more herbal and even lightly savory, at least early on; here, fried sage meets a little sweet & sour sauce. But things change once again at the midpalate, moving toward burnt citrus peel and tropical fruit, the latter opening up into overripe pineapple, papaya, and guava.
Toasted oak and allspice carry us through to the back palate before a long and mildly tannic finish. At the very end, nut extracts and malt take back the reins. It’s effectively a final shift back from cask to distillate.
Inviting, accessible, and never boring, this is easily another feather in Rosebank’s cap. The deeper you dig, the more you’ll find.
95.2 proof.
A / $2000 (700ml)
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