Rosebank Distillery, Falkirk: The King of the Lowlands Reborn

Rosebank Distillery, Falkirk: The King of the Lowlands Reborn

✅Open to visitors — this distillery has a visitor centre and/or tours (some by appointment; book ahead — see the box below).

Rosebank at a glance

RegionLowland (Camelon, Falkirk)
Founded1798 — reopened 2023
OwnerIan Macleod Distillers
Visitor centreYes — restored, with a new centre
ToursReawakening, Rekindled & Revered tours — book
OpeningOpen to visitors, booked tours — check the website
Websiterosebank.com

Overview

Rosebank was long mourned as the finest Lowland malt of all — a delicate, floral, triple-distilled classic on the Forth & Clyde Canal at Falkirk, silenced in 1993 and thought lost forever. In 2023 Ian Macleod Distillers brought it back to life, rebuilding the distillery and recreating its celebrated character. Its return is one of the happiest stories in modern Scotch.

The history

Rosebank was founded in 1798 and built its reputation on triple distillation, the old Lowland hallmark, which gave it an unusually light, fragrant elegance. It closed in 1993 and for thirty years its scarce old bottlings were treasured. Ian Macleod bought the name and site, and after a careful restoration — even recovering the original stills’ dimensions — reopened Rosebank in 2023.

The water & the land

Rosebank draws its water from the Carron Valley Reservoir.

Rosebank had no founding clan — it was a Lowland commercial distillery, founded by the Stark Brothers on the banks of the Forth & Clyde Canal, whose barges once carried its whisky to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Visiting

Rosebank is open to visitors with a smart new centre and a range of tours from the Reawakening up to the premium Revered — book ahead; check the website. It sits by the canal at Falkirk, near the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel.

Nearby & more whisky

Sources