Rosebank Distillery – part of Ian Macleod Distilleries – also known as the ‘King of the Lowlands’, is set to open its doors to the public on Friday 7 June.
Closed three decades ago in 1993, the distillery is now back in business following a four-year restoration project and is set to welcome its first visitors later this year. Bringing a sense of striking modern architecture blended with some of the original distillery building, the new Rosebank site honours the building’s heritage. The distillery’s Victorian red brickwork faces the Forth and Clyde canal, whilst a new glass-fronted stillroom is visible from the front of the building, where visitors will find exact copies of the original stills, painstakingly replicated in shape using blueprints salvaged from the Rosebank archives.
The original mill, thought to be around 103 years old, has been retained and continues to be used in the production of Rosebank’s award-winning whisky as it did over 30 years ago. A new dunnage style warehouse has been built from the bricks of its historic counterpart, which now showcases casks of the original Rosebank alongside the first casks of the new Rosebank spirit. The landmark 108ft chimney stack has also been repaired and continues to dominate Falkirk’s skyline.
After being left to lie empty for 24 years, Leonard Russell, Managing Director of Ian Macleod Distillers, which also owns Glengoyne, Tamdhu and Edinburgh Gin, was determined to save the distillery.
Leonard said, “I could see that Rosebank Distillery was held in extremely high regard and it was a huge shame that it closed when it was distilling some of the best spirit for the Scotch whisky industry. Being small, Rosebank was one of the more expensive whiskies to produce, but in my view that’s no reason to close a distillery. Its reopening will be a very special moment for its hometown of Falkirk, for the Scotch industry and for whisky lovers everywhere.”
Visitors can experience first-hand what makes Rosebank so special – its rich history before it closed, its renaissance, and its unique whisky-making process. Three tours, Rosebank Reawakening, Rosebank Rekindled and Rosebank Revered, are on offer to guide visitors from the original mill to the three gleaming pot stills where the spirit is triple-distilled and condensed in traditional wooden worm tubs, as it always has been. Everyone visiting will get to nose the new make Rosebank spirit, while two of the tours include a bespoke tutored tasting of some extremely rare old Rosebank whisky. Tours will end at the new distillery shop, where guests will also get the chance to purchase exclusive Rosebank expressions, such as Single Casks, Global Releases and Distillery Exclusives.
Malcolm Rennie, Distillery Manager at Rosebank said, “The process of bringing Rosebank Distillery back to life has been meticulous, with a huge amount of detail going into each and every element. It was very important that we paid homage to Rosebank’s history and story, and we feel we’ve done it justice by incorporating so much of the former distillery into our new home.
“The whole team at Rosebank are overjoyed to finally share our beautiful new distillery with whisky admirers across the world. We’re extremely proud of what we’ve created and can’t wait to open our doors this summer.”
Tours start from £25 per person, up to £300, and are available every day of the week.
Click here to book a tour of the Rosebank Distillery.
