About The Balvenie The Second Red Rose 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Once upon a time, in the land of Speyside, there stood a castle atop a hill known as Balvenie. This castle was home to Margaret Douglas, the widow of the 8th Earl of Douglas, who paid her rent to King James II in the form of a single, stunning red rose. This rose was not only a sight to behold with its vibrant magenta hue, but it was also incredibly valuable. So valuable, in fact, that it served as inspiration for two rare Balvenie whiskies. David C Stewart, Balvenie’s master distiller, was fascinated by the story of the rose and decided to use it as inspiration for his next creation. Using port pipes, he created the first Balvenie Rose, a liquid of such intriguing color and taste that it quickly became the talk of the town. But Stewart was not content to rest on his laurels. He knew that he could do even better, so he set out to create a worthy successor — and thus, The Second Red Rose was born. It’s rumored that the spirit prides itself on even greater complexity than its predecessor. Finished in Australian Shiraz and bottled at 48.1% ABV, this amazing whisky conjures up an intriguing bouquet of flavors — from blackberry and ripe peaches to woody spice and cracked black pepper.
Grab your bottle of this delicious Balvenie The Second Red Rose 21-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky today!
About The Balvenie
Born into poverty in December 1839, William Grant became a cattle herder at the age of 7 in order to supplement his family's income. As a teenager, Grant apprenticed as a cobbler and a clerk, and in 1866, he joined Mortlach Distillery as a bookkeeper. For the next two decades, Grant managed the affairs at the distillery, while secretly learning the art of distillation. In 1886, he resigned from his position as distillery manager and bought a field beneath the towering shadows of Balvenie Castle, which he eventually converted into The Balvenie Distillery. Today, The Balvenie Distillery, situated in the Speyside region of Scotland, remains one of the most prestigious independent distilleries in all of Scotland.
The Balvenie Single Malt Whisky is made from fresh, plump barley grown on Balvenie Mains, a 1,000 acre farm situated adjacent to the distillery (the farm has been the distillery's source for barley for over a century). After the barley is harvested, it is malted at the distillery with spring water sourced from the rolling Speyside hills that overlook the distillery. During the malting process, the barley is turned up to four times a day in order to ensure that it germinates evenly (The Balvenie is the only single malt Scotch whisky distillery that continues to grow and malt its own barley).
Once the barley has been malted, it is milled and mashed at the distillery before being fermented using a proprietary strain of yeast. Following fermentation, the wash is distilled twice, first through Balvenie's copper-pot wash still and then again through its copper-pot spirit still. "The most important reason for using a copper still," explains Dennis McBain, Balvenie's coppersmith, "is that it acts as a catalyst. It removes any sulphur which may be carried over from the fermentation process prior to distillation."McBain, who joined Balvenie Distillery in 1959, is one of the oldest coppersmiths remaining in the industry.
In addition, the size and shape of Balvenie's stills — the stills' necks have unique boil balls that are nicknamed "Balvenie Bowls"- results in Balvenie's signature bold and malty flavor profile. "The size and shape of the boil ball allow for the vapors to mix before continuing up the head," explains McBain. "That helps make The Balvenie special."
About Scotch
Scotch is the most popular whisky in the world and is considered the king of them all! There are five whisky regions in Scotland (six if you count the not officially recognized Islands), and each of them produces spirits with unique properties and distinct tasting notes. (The type of grain used determents the type of the scotch.)
Malt whisky is made of malted barley, and grain whisky uses other grains like corn or wheat. Most of the time, a whisky is blended from different distilleries hence the name blended scotch, but if a malt whisky is produced in a single distillery, we get something extraordinary called a single malt.
Check out our impressive selection of scotch whiskies, find your new favorite in the Top 10 scotch whiskies, or explore our treasury of rare & hard to find scotch whiskies.
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