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 Alfred
Barnard visited the Rosebank Distillery a few years before the
publication of his book in 1887, The Whisky Distilleries
of the United Kingdom. Rosebank, he wrote, "is one
mile from Falkirk, and half a mile from the River Carron, and
is built on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal. It is not
isolated as many of the distilleries are, being placed by the
main road, on which there is a constant stream of traffic, and
also fronting the canal, where boats and steamers are continually
passing to and fro".
The site, according to Barnard, "was chosen on account
of the inexhaustible supply of water"; but it had other
advantages. Its proximity to a coalfield must have reduced the
cost of transporting fuel, and the canal provided an economic
route for incoming barley and for consignments of whisky to
Glasgow, Leith, and other seaports.
Rosebank Distillery was recorded in 1817-19, when it was managed
by James Robertson. Its history on the present site seems to
have begun in 1840, when James Rankine, a former grocer, acquired
the maltings of Camelon Distillery, on the east bank of the
canal, and began operations as a distiller. Five years later,
according to Barnard, "the buildings were considerably
enlarged", and Rankine got into temporary financial difficulties.
They were "entirely rebuilt in a modern day form"
by his son, R.W. Rankine, in 1864. Offices, described by Barnard
as handsome and newly-built were later added. The red-brick
buildings, facing the canal and backing on to the road, were
grouped around an interior courtyard, and designed to make the
best use of a restricted space.
Rankine demolished the main buildings of the Camelon Distillery
in 1865, three years after it ceased trading, and replaced them
with a maltings. The two ranges of buildings were connected
by a swing-bridge and covered three acres (1.2 hectares). They
adjoined another two acres accommodating "the grounds and
gardens of Rosebank House, one of the residences of Mr. Rankine",
who lived mainly in Edinburgh.
Rankine achieved his object: to distil a whisky that would stand
comparison with the best Scottish makes. By Barnard's day, output
had reached 123,000 gallons (319,000 litres), which was sold
mainly to the Edinburgh and Glasgow markets. In the 1890s, at
the height of the distillery boom, there was an extraordinary
demand for Rosebank and many customers had to be content with
an allocation of a smaller amount than they had ordered. The
proprietor was the only malt whisky distiller at the time who
was able to charge his customers warehouse rent.
The business was converted into a limited liability company,
under the name of Rosebank Distillery Ltd. in 1894. The share
capital was £120,000, of which 6,000 Ordinary shares of
£10 allotted to Rankine as vendor, and 6,000 Preference
shares of £10 were taken up by others. Three years later
when James Rankine had become managing director, the capital
was increased to allow an issue to the public of 4,000 Ordinary
shares of £10 each at a price of £20. Despite the
premium, the issue had an immediate success. Not long thereafter,
the notorious failure of Pettison Brothers, a Leith blending
company, created a redundancy of stocks on the whisky market;
but prudent management enabled Rosebank Distillery Ltd. to stay
the course until July 1914, when Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd.
(SMD) was formed to concentrate the resources of five Lowland
malt whisky distilleries, including Rosebank, at a time of deepening
recession in the industry.
The Forth & Clyde
Canal |
All
malt whisky distilleries were closed, by Government order, from
1917 to 1919, in the interest of conserving barley for foodstuffs.
However, Rosebank was one of the distilleries that remained
in production throughout the WWII.
Rosebank is widely regarded as the most distinguished of the
Lowland malts. Its House Style as described by Michael Jackson
is "Aromatic, with suggestions of clover and camomile.
Romantic. A whisky for lovers."
Rosebank was mothballed in 1993 and sold to British Waterways.
The site of this former distillery has since been developed
for residential use. |
