Ballantines 17 Year Old

Nose, Taste, Finish and Balance are graded out of 2.5 each:

Nose: American pancakes covered in maple syrup and honeycomb, with some gooseberries and rhubarb on the side. After scoffing that down why not wipe your mouth with a lemon-scented luxury leather napkin. Quite some breakfast. 2.5

Taste: Light honeycomb and elderflower, mixed in with spicy ginger and bitter dark chocolate. The perfect softly-smoky smoothie to go along with the pancakes. 2.0

Finish: Bitter chocolate once more, with wooden vanillas and chili plums, nestled gently on a bed of honey-smoke. Quite brief, but perfectly balanced. 2.0

Balance: Now I’m a confessed groupie of the Ballantine’s brand, and when Jim Murray awarded the Ballantine’s 17 his Whisky of The Year award for 2011, I was both pleased and surprised in equal measure. I was pleased as it was a great advert for Ballantine’s and Scotch Blends in general, and a testament to what blends can achieve under the shadow the mighty Single Malts. However I was equally surprised as, in my opinion, it is quite a stretch to argue that this is the finest dram out there, especially when I feel that even within the Ballantine’s range itself, I would actually rate the Ballantine’s Finest higher. As always however one must attempt to put context to the side, and on its own merits this is without question a beautifully smooth and characterful blend. And on a further side-note, Whisky Of The Year perhaps not, however Whisky Label-Design of The Year most certainly. A beautiful bottle in every sense. 2.0

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