Whisky: Rosebank 21 Year (1981) Rare Malts Selection

Country/Region: Scotland/Lowland

ABV: 62.3%

Cask: Oak

Age: 21 Years (Distilled 1981, Bottled May 2002)

Nose: Musty garden shed, dusty leather gloves, cut floral stems, clay and earth, wood, green garden, hazelnuts.

Palate: Full-bodied, intense flavors, sweetly herbal and slightly medicinal, old-fashioned candies, leather, earth, camphor, grassy florals, hibiscus, sweeter toward the end.

Finish: Long with a phenolic touch of herbal candy and wood.

Score: 9 (93)

Mental Image: Shave Ice under the Banyan Tree

Narrative & Notes: The aroma opened a creaking garden shed in my memories— musty and dusty with leather gloves, cut floral stems, clay pots, and slightly charred mulch. Assertive, the aroma gradually softened with more earth and green garden giving way to hazelnuts.  Full-bodied, the flavors were intense and in your face with sweet herbal horehound, mallow, and mugwort which landed somewhere between old fashioned hard candies and medicinal cough drops.  Leather and earth developed with a touch of camphor, though more familiar florals and grass gradually emerged. Hibiscus and passionflower, sweetened and turned into flavored syrups for shave ice over time.  The finish was long with a phenolic touch of herbal candies and wood.

I came to this bottle hoping to understand why Rosebank has its cult following and why people are willing to spend outrageous money on bottles of the lost, though recently reopened, distillery.  I get it now.

Maybe I scored this a bit higher than normal simply because I had fairly low expectations after some tepid experiences with 90s Rosebank previously.  I wish I could say that I will be looking to try more Rosebank from the 70s and 80s, but that is unlikely to happen.

Like most Rare Malts, the whisky benefited from time to breath as the flavors evolved more sweet florals and hibiscus over time.  The whisky was well-structured with clear transitions between different layers of flavor.  There was a sweet phenolic kiss to it that elevated some of the earthier and mustier elements.

Overall, beautiful.