Earlier this summer, the world of whisky celebrated the return of the king as the Rosebank Distillery in Falkirk opened its doors to visitors for the very first time.

The ‘ghost distillery’ had been shut three decades prior in 1993, at a time when the market was oversaturated with blended whisky leaving the fate of Rosebank in the hands of the big blends it supplied.

Thought to be lost forever, ‘The King of the Lowlands’ was brought back to life with a meticulous four-year restoration project carried out by Ian Macleod Distillers.

Spirit now flows through the distillery once more with the first cask filled in June, 2023.

Pictured: The Rosebank Distillery in FalkirkPictured: The Rosebank Distillery in Falkirk (Image: Supplied)

Malcolm Rennie, distillery manager at Rosebank, said: "We’ve known all along the magic and majesty that Rosebank retains, and you can really feel this come to life as we start up production once again and fill the first cask with the new Rosebank Spirit, Cask No. 001.

“We’ve assembled a fantastic distillery team and there is excitement among us all as we complete our first distillation runs.

“This is the first Rosebank spirit to be distilled in more than 30 years, so it’s an absolute honour to oversee the moment, and play a part in returning this once whisky giant to its former glory.”

In recent years, two other of Scotland’s historic distilleries have shared a similar tale of reawakening.

Many others, however, remain dormant, earning their title of ‘ghost' distilleries.

So, what does this term mean?

Pictured: The Port Ellen Distillery on IslayPictured: The Port Ellen Distillery on Islay (Image: Frame)

At the long-awaited reopening of Port Ellen Distillery on Islay in March this year, Ewan Gunn, global brand ambassador for Diageo Scotch Whiskies, explained: “Essentially, a ghost distillery is one that is no longer producing.

“It may have been closed down, it may even have been demolished, but from it, we still have maturing stocks of whisky.

“Port Ellen is a great example of that. This distillery closed down in 1983 and until very recently there was very little left of it, but we still had maturing stock or ‘ghost’ whiskies.

“It’s very exciting that the distillery has now reopened and is producing scotch whisky again, but all of the stock from its previous iteration will still be known as ‘ghost’ whisky.”

 

Port Ellen is one of many distilleries which failed to survive an infamously challenging period for Scoth during the 1980s as a worldwide recession and surplus production led to what was known as the ‘whisky loch’ of unwanted spirit.

During a closure which spanned four decades, the rare and finite casks of whisky remaining from before 1983 became a rare and valuable addition to any whisky collection.

So much so that these bottles of ‘ghost whisky’ now carry price tags of tens of thousands of pounds.

Ali McDonald, master distiller at Port Ellen said of the return this year: “It is an honour to take up this new position at the helm of an iconic distillery and build on Port Ellen’s pioneering past. 

“Port Ellen holds a very special place in the hearts of passionate whisky aficionados, and to see spirit flow off these stills once again is an incredible moment for the Islay community and wider whisky world.

“We are deeply committed to pushing the boundaries of Scotch through experimentation.

“I’m excited to see what we can now create.”

Pictured: The Brora Distillery in SutherlandPictured: The Brora Distillery in Sutherland

The reopening of Port Ellen was the final chapter of the £185 million investment by parent company Diageo, which had also overseen the resurrection of Brora distillery in Sutherland.

Also falling victim to the turbulent landscape the of the Scotch whisky sector in the 80s, just like Port Ellen Brora closed its gates in 1983.

During its time of closure, the distillery and its whisky gained “legendary status” among whisky connoisseurs the world over and its reawakening in 2021 was hailed as a vote of confidence in future of the industry.

Ewan Andrew, president of supply chain and procurement at Diageo, said: “This is a new dawn for Brora – a distillery that is a beautiful new jewel in the crown of our portfolio in Scotland.

“[It] shows real confidence for the future to see something so special as Brora come back into the Scotch whisky footprint.

“[It is] a restoration project that has been meticulously planned and executed.

“The whisky specialists, when they come, will be delighted to see the traditional mash tun and the restoration of that with the original stills. They will get to see, touch, feel and experience everything that was Brora back in 1983.”

Read more:

​

Other famous ghost distilleries in Scotland of which now only limited stocks of whisky remain include the Port Dundas Distillery in Glasgow.

Built in 1811 at the highest point of the city, the site would go on to produce 39 million litres of spirit each year before it was closed in 2010.

The site was demolished one year later in 2011.

Said to be the “ultimate ghost distillery”, Ladyburn in Girvan was operational for just nine years between 1966 and 1975, at which point it made a “noble sacrifice” to allow other distilleries owned by the Grant family to prosper.

Now, each Ladyburn Edition partners one of its rare remaining casks with unseen or rediscovered work from an iconic artist, each carefully curated to adorn each of the strictly limited and numbered bottles.

This has included Edition One (David Bailey), Edition Two (Norman Parkinson) and Edition Three (David Hicks).

Brian Kinsman, malt master at William Grant & Sons, said: “Fundamentally, single malt really was born in the 60s; these casks stayed as a piece of history from an incredibly short life of a distillery”.