Lost Distilleries Chapter 2: Rosebank 21 Year Old

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the Diageo Special Releases 2011 launch, giving me the chance to sample whiskies way beyond the limits of what I can afford. Over the next week I am going to release my notes culminating with the almighty Port Ellen (this seems suitably dramatic to me). What is most exciting about the Diageo Special Releases is the chance to try those increasingly rare whiskies from the lost distilleries of the eighties and early nineties combined with some different takes on existing whiskies. All I can say is that I was not disappointed. From Caol Ila to Port Dundas, there were a lot of great drams to be had, all at cask strength, all different. So today I start with my first experience of that Lowland classic - Rosebank.

One malt I was particularly looking forward to was the Rosebank. Despite having heard lots about this closed distillery I've never got to try it. Rosebank like most Lowland distilleries, triple distils its spirit. What is particularly sad about Rosebank is that it was closed in favour of the more picturesque and higher capacity distillery at Glenkinchie. A triumph for marketing was a tragedy for whisky. I had heard many good things about Rosebank and after a while I assumed it was just hype, I felt people just wanted another Port Ellen or Brora. So I tasted the Rosebank with suspicions that it would offer less than was anticipated. Naturally I was wrong...

Rosebank 1990
53.8% - 21 Years Old - 5,604 Numbered Bottles Worldwide
Nose: Roses as the name suggests with parma violet aromas woven in to this intensely floral dram. This flowery aroma was followed by a scent I can only describe as citrus fruit petals or lemon grass perhaps. There was also a vinous quality that I found hard to place, I heard Viognier mentioned a couple of times, so maybe that?
Palate: Peaches and stone fruit dominate this silky dram, with lemon and sugar skipping behind.
Finish: Soft and short, with that floral quality returning with a flash of milk chocolate.
Overall: Fantastic, a lot going on without it seeming clumsy. Most surprisingly was that this whisky worked well at cask-strength and I didn't feel it required water. The Rosebank has given me a new appreciation of the potential of Lowland whiskies. Next I'd like to try a independent bottling for comparison so as to see the scope that this closed distillery once offered... Watch this space for more special release reviews!

Limited and Glorious: Hedonism Maximus

There is something charming about limited editions. They represent that which is low yield, excellent and desirable. Limited releases and editions offer a peek into an exclusive world inhabited by the privileged and fortunate. What I like about whisky is that limited editions and releases are not always priced excessively highly. Some like the Lagavulin 12 year old and the stunner that is Aberlour's A'bunadh are not only good value for money but thanks to being batch released not too difficult to source. Other bottlings such as the drinkable Snow Phoenix from Speyside distillers Glenfiddich was very limited but not overly expensive. This isn't to say all limited release whiskies are inexpensive and available or what would be the point? But whisky unlike many other luxury products is one where at any price bracket you can experience some exclusivity if you look hard enough.

The joy of limited editions is knowing that you are a member of a clique who have tried the whisky and that in years to come the whisky will be mostly extinct. The icing on the cake is that limited editions are often of a higher quality, although this is arguable. Recently, I got to try a limited release I thought I had missed the chance to try. Better still I had only just become re-acquainted with its standard release brother the Compass Box Hedonism. The whisky I was lucky enough to be offered was the limited release Hedonism Maximus. A blended grain whisky of superb quality and old age (I was told minimum of 37 years). Here is what I thought of both the standard and the limited release:

Hedonism
43% - Blended Grain Whisky - Bottled by Compass Box
Nose: Coconut and a slight almondy character complimented with vanilla and a medicinality.
Palate: Light but very rich with toffee and syrupy vanilla sweetness.
Finish: Fairly hot with a clear spiciness.
Overall: An example in how grain whisky can excel, perfect dessert whisky or digestif.

Hedonism Maximus
46% - 37 Year Old - Blended Grain Whisky - Bottled by Compass Box
Nose: Roses arrive first tailed by a sweet sugary syrup with raspberry colis.
Palate: Light with that sweet richness of the standard release enhanced with summer fruits cutting through the swirling sweetness.
Finish: Intense vanilla holding its own for a good time to come.
Overall: I really enjoy the standard release Hedonism, but the Maximus leaps ahead with its rose, raspberry and summer fruits combination that lend it a complexity that makes this syrupy dram stand out from its peers.