The Macallan teams up with Roca bros

The Roca brothers, who run Spain’s esteemed El Celler de Can Roca restaurant, have teamed up with The Macallan once again, this time to release a limited edition single malt whisky finished in casks from four Spanish bodegas.

The single malt carries an RRP of £65

Named Edition No. 2, the expression was created by Bob Dalgarno, The Macallan’s master whisky maker, in partnership with the Roca brothers; Joan, Josep and Jordi, co-founders of El Celler de Can Roca, which has twice been voted best restaurant in the world.

The whisky has been finished in seven types of cask selected from four different bodegas; Vasyma, Diego Martin, Jose Miguel Martin and Tevasa. Each cask was handpicked by each Roca brother, and Dalgarno.

“The driving force behind the Edition Series is the freedom we have to explore different and distinctive casks, some that might not typically be used in other Macallan whiskies,” said Bob Dalgarno, The Macallan’s master whisky maker.

“With wood at the very heart of this series, we very much enjoyed the opportunity to delve into each individual cask, discovering the style and the special influence it can impart on the resulting whisky. The harmony and balance of Edition No. 2 reflects not only the hand selected casks but the relationship that we have been developing with Joan, Josep and Jordi over the last few years – it is a powerful collaboration and one that I have loved being a part of.”

El Celler de Can Roca, in northeastern Spain, opened in 1986 and won its first Michelin star in 1995, second in 2002 and third in 2009. It was named World’s Best Restaurant in 2015 for a second year, but lost the title to Massimo Bottura’s three Michelin star Modena restaurant Osteria Francescana in 2016.

Oldest brother Joan is the restaurant’s head chef, while middle brother Josep is head sommelier and younger brother Jordi head pastry chef.

The brothers previously worked with The Macallan last year to host a series of six charity dinners, costing US$10,000 per head, with dishes designed to pair with the flavour and character of The Macallan range, with unreleased single cask malts through to M, The Macallan in Lalique 62 year old and the oldest single malt ever released by the distillery on pour.

Edition No 2. is bottled at 48.2% ABV and is described as having a “warm, spicy and complex character that brings to the fore notes of apple, oranges, toffee, dried fruit and vanilla”.

The limited edition single malt is available in specialist whisky retailers with an RRP of £65.

The Roca Brothers