I will tell you though, newer Ballantine’s has its place: its place is in my heart, after making a swift journey down my esophagus. I was recently involuntarily in East Africa for a long while, and Ballantine’s was basically the go-to Scotch if you didn’t want to shell out ridiculous sums for well-known brands. Silver at Los Angeles Spirit Awards (2020), and Silver at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards (2020)

Whisky In The World: The Whisky Brands To Drink (2023) 15 Best Whisky In The World: The Whisky Brands To Drink (2023)

Whisky is a spirit made from fermented grain mash. The spirit features various grains, which may be malted, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. The process for creating whisky has changed little over the past 200 years including the makeup of three core ingredients — water, barley, and yeast. An amber-gold whisky, the 14 Year has mainly malt-based flavors with a focus on oak, spice, and fruit. It’s another sophisticated drink from a brand determined to pave the way towards single malt domination. There are five stages to the whisky-making process: malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation, and maturation. The nose is the first thing that’ll impress you: warm coffee, ginger, and cinnamon, followed by dark chocolate and tiramisu. It’s a pleasant aroma that focuses on sweet notes. The taste is an explosion of mocha and dark chocolate with a touch of apricot and exotic spices. You’ll finish on a note of creamy cappuccino and amaretto with bitter-sweet orange.After my father passed in 2009 I eventually found myself exploring his modest but eclectic collection of spirits and cordials. Most prominent was a nearly half full 1.5 liter bottle of Ballentine’s that I deducted hailed from the early to mid 70s. I assumed it had to have gone to pot, for no specific informed reason. But when I twisted open the cap I was greeted by a rich fragrance which grew in depth and power as it permeated my inner cavities. Whoa, I said to the bottle.

Ballantine’s Finest Scotch Whisky | Malt - Whisky Reviews Ballantine’s Finest Scotch Whisky | Malt - Whisky Reviews

Before we take a deep dive into the grain spirits that’ll whisk you away, find out more about the terminology you should know about whisky and our selection process for drawing up the best whisky brands in the world. This reminds me of an old-school, white-tablecloth steakhouse from the 1960’s. Specifically, the white label here on the dark bottle looks like a waiter’s white coat, and consequently feels about as approachable as a porcupine to younger, millennial drinkers.I poured a couple fingers into one of the small leaded crystal tasting cups and the fragrance fully bloomed into a wonderfully evocative symphony of classic whiskey purfumes. Whoa, I again nodded to the imposing bottle. So then I sipped it and my mouth flooded with some of the most satisfyingly balanced flavors I’d yet experienced in my admittedly meager whiskey history. But I had sampled fine 12 and 18 year old Single Malts and Blends and so I had at least a working knowledge of what to expect of a fine or even finer dram. This one certainly deserved consideration among that higher pedigree class, it was so delightfully smooth and subtle yet seductively complex. I have really weird experience. I too wanted to do side by side. So I acquired JW Red from 60s and bouht current one. In no way old one was sweet. But strangely both were similar in flavour profile. The older was a bit better but really close to current one. If I was to rate current one (think any number) than the old would be +1 max +2. Which is neat, and I appreciate the extra touch… but since brown spirits don’t really need to be stored in any sort of air-tight fashion, it feels like a case of over-engineering for not much benefit.

Ballantine’s Products – Ballantine’s

It’s known for its long line of successful bottles and its 12-Year-Old might just be the top choice of them all. This whisky offers the gold standard when it comes to drinking Scotch, with a “heather-honey” flavoring and a wonderful nose. Gold at the International Wine & Spirit Competition, Gold at the International Spirits Challenge, and a Master’s Award at The Scotch Whisky Masters competition On the nose, these are kissing cousins. In the mouth, however, there are miles between these two. The 1970’s incarnation has body, force, presence, character, personality. It doesn’t entirely come off, but what it has to show for itself is excellent. The 2019 version – by way of contrast – is a wet blanket, a limp noodle, a wallflower, milquetoast, all the associated adjectives. Gesticulating with all my verve, I attempted to explain to him what he had on his hands. This wasn’t just old booze; it was history! I bumbled my way through a brief dissertation on the consolidation of the Scotch whisky industry, and the associated changes to production methods and so forth. With consummate good manners he excused himself, explaining that the paella needed stirring. What’s really interesting to me is the cap. There’s a screw-on top here that’s common to other lower shelf whiskey, but it’s pretty complex. The thread pitch on the cap is shallower than you’d expect, meaning you’re going to be twisting it longer but it’s also going to seal more completely. There’s also a plastic gasket that fits into the top sealing the bottle better than usual.There’s not a whole lot of information about the source of this whisky, which is common for blended scotch such as this. We’re continuing our journey into the popular whisky of the mid-20th century, and along the way we’ve found that some brands have tried to modernize their branding and image, appealing to the latest generation of drinkers. Ballantine’s doesn’t play that game, keeping with its distinctive mid-century look and feel despite the changing times around it. And in spite of that (or perhaps because of it?) they seem to be doing just fine. Gold in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible (2014), and Gold at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (2020) Gold Award at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2018) and Gold Award at the International Spirit Challenge (2017)