The recent news of Rosebank Distillery’s reopening after 30 years has given scotch whisky lovers something to anticipate on the horizon. Of course, since Cask 001 of the revived Rosebank was just filled this month, it will be many moons before we all get to taste the new incarnation. That inspired us to take a look back at the old Rosebank expressions and see what prices they can fetch at auction these days.
We looked at the highest hammer prices from the four main groups of collectible Rosebank whiskies released by the distillery's current and former owners in the decades when the distillery was silent. At the time of acquiring Rosebank in 2017, Ian Macleod Distillers acknowledged that they gained ownership of “several dozen casks” of old Rosebank as part of the deal.
Rosebank - Flora & Fauna Releases
Diageo’s Flora & Fauna collection encompassed a wide range of single malts with attractive labels featuring plants, birds, fish, and mammals. A number of the expressions, such as Rosebank, Bladnoch, Aberfeldy, and Speyburn, became particularly collectible when the distilleries were shuttered or acquired by other companies. A small number of distilleries including Rosebank, Aberfeldy, Linkwood, Mortlach, and others were later selected for a cask strength Flora & Fauna release, a forerunner of the idea behind the Rare Malts Selection. The Flora & Fauna collection was the first time the distillery owners introduced the floral motif to the Rosebank label, and the Rosebank Flora & Fauna 12 year old continued to be released as the standard expression from the distillery into the 2000s.
Rosebank Flora & Fauna 12 year old, 43%
Original Release Date: 1991
Hammer price: $743
Sold on: May 10, 2021 at Whisky Auctioneer
Rosebank Flora & Fauna 1981 Cask Strength, 63.9%
Original Release Date: 1997
Hammer price: $1,522
Sold on: January 2, 2022 at Whisky Hammer
Rosebank - The Rare Malts Selection Releases
United Distillers, later Diageo, released the Rare Malts Selection between 1995 and 2005. It contained over 100 cask-strength releases from operating and closed scotch whisky distilleries, including four cask-strength Rosebanks, and the series has proved to be highly collectible.
Rosebank Rare Malts Selection 1979 19 year old, 60.2%
Original Release Date: 1998
Hammer price: $7,422
Sold on: November 4, 2019 at Whisky Auctioneer
Rosebank Rare Malts Selection 1979 20 year old, 60.3%
Original Release Date: 1999
Hammer price: $2,147
Sold on: November 22, 2021 at Whisky Auctioneer
Rosebank Rare Malts Selection 1981 20 year old, 62.3%
Original Release Date: 2002
Hammer price: $2,220
Sold on: August 3, 2020 at Whisky Auctioneer
Rosebank Rare Malts Selection 1981 22 year old, 61.1%
Original Release Date: 2004
Hammer price: $2,069
Sold on: June 6, 2022 at Whisky Auctioneer
Rosebank Diageo Special Releases
The Diageo Special Releases were launched in 2001 as the successor to the Rare Malts Selection and this annual series continues to this day. Diageo evolved the floral motif first seen on the Flora & Fauna bottling, and this trio became the highest age-stated Rosebanks released under their ownership. The 2011 release was rated 89 points, while the 2014 release scored 88 points. Rosebank was never included in Diageo’s new annual range of Prima & Ultima releases, which debuted in 2020, as Ian Macleod Distillers had acquired the Rosebank trademark from them in 2017.
Rosebank 1981 25 year old, 61.4%
Original Release Date: 2007
Hammer price: $2,638
Sold on: June 6, 2022 at Whisky Auctioneer
Rosebank 1990 21 year old, 53.8%
Original Release Date: 2011
Hammer price: $1,858
Sold on: January 29, 2023 at Whisky Hammer
Rosebank 1992 21 year old, 55.3%
Original Release Date: 2014
Hammer price: $1,955
Sold on: April 10, 2022 at Scotch Whisky Auctions
Rosebank – The Ian Macleod Distillers Releases
Ian Macleod Distillers, owners of Glengoyne and Tamdhu distilleries, acquired the Rosebank site, trademark, and remaining stock in 2017. In the build-up to restarting production, they released a series of older age statement Rosebanks in stores, travel retail, and their online shop, including a couple of single cask releases. An enhanced rose motif was designed, and brighter colors were introduced to the labels and tubes. The 30 year old Release #1 scored 92 points, and the 31 year old Release #2 earned 91 points. Let’s hope there are more to come, while we wait for the new Rosebank spirit distilled in 2023 to mature.
Rosebank 1990 29 year old, 48%
Original Release Date: 2020
Hammer price: $5,832
Sold on: November 8, 2021 at Whisky Auctioneer
Rosebank 1990 30 year old Release No. 1, 48.6%
Original Release Date: 2020
Hammer price: $3,528
Sold on: January 10, 2022 at Whisky Auctioneer
Rosebank 31 year old Release No. 2, 48.1%
Original Release Date: 2022
Hammer price: $2,891
Sold on: September 14, 2022 at Whisky-Online Auctions
Rosebank 1990 32 year old, 47.8%
Original Release Date: 2022
Hammer price: $6,429
Sold on: July 23, 2023 at Whisky Hammer
Please note: Hammer prices were determined from the following selection of leading whisky auction houses: Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, Whisky Hammer, Whisky.Auction, Just Whisky, Whisky Online Auctions, The Grand Whisky Auction, Bonhams, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Unicorn Auctions. Prices were converted to U.S. dollars using xe.com exchange rates from the dates of each auction.
