The Balvenie The Second Red Rose
Get ready to experience The Balvenie as you’ve never tried it before. The first time the pioneers of cask finishing have ever used Red Wine casks, The Second Red Rose has been finished in none-other than Australian Shiraz casks.
United KingdomColour Rose Gold
Nose Intense ripe fruits combined with robust earthy tones, reveal the mouth-watering fragrance from fresh mango and subtle oak.
Palate An initial burst of blackberry and ripe peach sweetness, conceal flavours of vibrant oak and cracked black pepper leaving a gentle woody spice.
Finish Indulgent & decadent, summer fruits ease into a long lingering oakiness.
Overview
In 2008, The Balvenie dropped The First Red Rose, which was not only an amazing whisky encapsulating the Red Rose story but also a hit with collectors, with bottles now fetching upwards of $4,500 at auctions. It was a liquid of such intriguing colour and taste that it would become the talk of Dufftown for many years to come. It’s story, and the one of its successor, The Second Red Rose, began many centuries ago in a castle high on a Speyside Hill…
Margaret Douglas, a widow, lived in Balvenie Castle for many years. Her rent payable to King James took the form of one exquisite red rose. This red rose, so the story goes, had a magenta hue, and was considered not only to be extremely beautiful, but very valuable too.
Centuries later, with the Balvenie distillery on the edge of the land from the Balvenie Castle, the tale of the rare red flower lives on. Says Malt Master David Stewart: “The aim was to create a deeply vibrant whisky, to evoke the flower in question. That’s where it all began. It all came together beautifully, the significance of the rose, the colour, wanting the story to come to life”.
While The First Red Rose used Port pipe casks to create that red tinge in the whisky, in a history-making first for the distillery The Second Red Rose is finished in Red Wine casks. But not just any old casks; in an unprecedented move, they’ve used Australian Shiraz casks, giving a distinctive blush to the 21 Year Old whisky, and a sweetly vibrant, rounded depth of flavour.
The nose is gentle but really blossoms, opening to reveal intense ripe fruits, fresh mango and subtle oak. The palate gives an initial burst of blackberry and ripe peach sweetness amongst gentle woody spice, before the decadently long lingering finish takes over with summer fruits and soft indulgent oak.
It's liquid luxury in a glass and epitomises why Balvenie has become one of the highest awarded and sought-after single malts on the planet; one to “go straight to the pool room” to be saved for a special moment.
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THE SPECS
Price: $525.00
Age: 21 Years Old
ABV: 48.1%
Maturation: Finished in Australian Shiraz casks
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The Balvenie's History
Established in 1892 by William Grant in a converted 18th century mansion, The Balvenie Distillery is one of the great success stories of Scotch whisky. Today the distillery is owned by the fifth generation of William Grant’s family, making William Grant & Sons one of the longest single-family ownerships in the world.
Distillery Facts
Region: Speyside
Origin: Balvenie Distillery, Dufftown, AB55 4BB, Scotland, United Kingdom
Founded: 1892
Water Source: 21 springs in the Conval Hills surrounding the distillery
Washbacks: Douglas Fir
Stills: 5 wash and 6 spirit
Capacity: 5,600,000 litres per annum