Rosebank

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Founded

1817

Region

Lowland

Status

Operational

Company

Ian Macleod Distillers

Production type

Single malt

Rosebank is a Lowland malt distillery located in Falkirk and part of the Ian Macleod Distillers portfolio. It was established in 1817 by the Stark family before being relocated by James Rankine to the site of the former Camelon maltings on the opposite bank of the Forth and Clyde Canal in 1840. In 1914 the distillery became one of the founding members of Scottish Malts Distillers, which was subsequently acquired by Distillers Company in 1925. Although it survived the closures of the Whisky Loch era of the 1980s, Rosebank was closed by United Distillers in 1993 after the company preferred Glenkinchie to be its Lowland representative in the Classic Malts of Scotland stable due to its greater potential for tourism.

The distillery buildings were sold to Scottish Waterways by Diageo in 2002 and left in disrepair until 2017 when a deal was struck with Ian Macleod Distillers to purchase the site (along with a separate deal with Diageo for the brand and remaining inventory). A long and at times difficult process of refurbishment then commenced before the distillery filled its first casks of the 21st century in July 2023.

For much of the 20th century Rosebank was licensed by Scottish Malt Distillers to The Distillers Agency, one of the many of blending operations under the Distillers Company Umbrella. While it used most of the distillery's production for its blended Scotch brands, it did market a Rosebank single malt brand for many years. The first bottlings appeared in the 1970s and the label was marketed until 1988 when it was discontinued by United Distillers. During that time its range was comprised of a non-age statement and an 8- and 12-year-old expression from which the former was included in Distillers Company's Ascot Malt Cellar (a package of single malt brands considered a spiritual predecessor to the Classic Malts of Scotland).

Rosebank single malt returned briefly in 1991 when United Distillers relaunched it as one of its Flora & Fauna labels, however the closure of the distillery just two years later meant that it was eventually discontinued around 2006 when it ran out of stock to produce the standard 12-year-old. Prior to that, a limited edition 1983 vintage was also released for the Bristol Brandy Company, followed by a cask strength offering in 1997.

Rosebank was then seen occasionally within the Diageo annual Special Release collections before being relaunched in 2018 by Ian Macleod Distillers. To date its catalogue has been restricted to premium limited editions of old United Distillers stock, however new make from the re-opened distillery was made available in 2024.

Current owner

Ian Macleod Distillers

2017-present

Diageo

2002-2017 (brand only)

Diageo

1997-2002

Guinness PLC

1986-1997

Distillers Company

1925-1986

Scottish Malt Distillers