The Balvenie has unveiled a new collection of single malts that celebrate the Dufftown distillery’s history of crafting exceptional casks and vintage drams.

The Rare Marriages range pays tribute to Balvenie Malt Master David C. Stewart’s dedication to imparting exceptional flavour through the meeting of rare casks.

The Balvenie Twenty-five (aged 25 years; 48% ABV non-chill filtered of natural colour) stands out as the hero product and represents the first expression in the range, which will be launched progressively with selected global travel retailers from July.

It is aimed at discerning drinkers keen to discover ‘the incredibly complex in the seemingly simple’, says the brand.

This involves understanding the marriage that occurs in the traditional oak marrying tun, which under the stewardship of Stewart result in the creation of ‘intricate and balanced expressions which personify The Balvenie character through the years’.

“We are excited to release this premium expression into the global travel retail market this Summer,” said Lindsay Rae-Hizeroth, Head of Customer Marketing, Global Travel Retail, William Grant & Sons.

“The timing is also exciting as airports across the world begin to resume operations after this very difficult period of time for the industry in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is sure to be pent-up demand from travellers seeking premium expressions as they travel again and we are confident the Balvenie Twenty-five will have the stand-out shelf appeal to help satisfy that demand.

“Together with a very select group of retail partners, we look forward to introducing the full Balvenie Rare Marriages Range to GTR later this year.”

The Balvenie Twenty-five is presented in its own case designed to represent the release of flavour in the marrying process with golden rings for every year of maturation.

The Balvenie Thirty and The Balvenie Forty Cask Strength will follow thereafter.