Old Rhosdhu - 1990s

Old Rhosdhu was one of the many different single malt whisky styles made at the experimental independent Loch Lomond distillery in the Highlands. Loch Lomond is a modern distillery, built in 1966, and Rhosdhu was one of the earliest styles of spirit made at the distillery. The house style of Old Rhosdhu tended towards the gentler, floral/fruity end of Loch Lomond’s exceptionally diverse stylistic spectrum.

Old Rhosdhu single malt whisky was officially bottled by Loch Lomond as a 5-year-old in the 1980s, with a highly-regarded 1967 vintage following in the mid-1990s. Occasional independent bottlings of Old Rhosdhu by Cadenhead’s, First Cask and others appeared from the mid-1990s, but production of Old Rhosdhu was halted around 2000. Recent independent bottlings of 1990s vintages of Old Rhosdhu have attracted high scores and are becoming highly sought after.

Distillery bottlings are, as the name suggests, bottled by or for the distillery from which the whisky has originated and are thus often referred to as Official Bottlings or OBs. Distillery bottlings are generally more desirable for collectors and usually fetch higher prices at auction than independent bottlings. They are officially-endorsed versions of the whisky from a particular distillery and are therefore considered the truest expression of the distillery’s character.

This ideal of the distillery character is regarded so seriously by the distilleries and brand owners that casks of whisky that are considered to vary too far from the archetype are frequently sold on to whisky brokers and independent bottlers. When this happens, it is often with the proviso that the distillery’s name is not allowed to be used when the cask is bottled for fear of diminishing or damaging the distillery’s character and status.