After a 30 year break, Rosebank Distillery will open its doors in June following a four-year restoration project.
Known as the ‘King of the Lowlands’, it closed in 1993 but Leonard Russell, Managing Director of Ian Macleod Distillers, which also owns Glengoyne, Tamdhu and Edinburgh Gin, was determined to save the distillery.
Leonard explains, “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.”
The restoration sees the original mill, thought to be around 103 years old, still used in the production of Rosebank’s whisky with the addition of a new dunnage style warehouse built from the bricks of its historic counterpart. The distillery’s Victorian red brickwork faces the Forth and Clyde canal, and a new glass-fronted stillroom is visible from the front of the building, where visitors will find exact copies of the original stills, replicated using blueprints salvaged from the Rosebank archives. The landmark 108ft chimney stack has also been repaired and continues to dominate Falkirk’s skyline.
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.”
The Distillery and visitor centre re-opens on 7 June.