Ballantine's Very Old Scotch Whisky

Ballantine's Very Old Scotch Whisky Aged 30 years. Standard bottle, 700ml, 86 proof, presentation box, about $360-400.



George Ballantine & Sons have been blending scotch for almost 180 years and the 30 yo is their finest expression. Since 1934 the 30 yo has been one of the top aged blends available in the world. This particular bottle was distilled in 1956 and bottled in 1986. I ran across this on a whisky auction and thought it would be a great bottle to help celebrate my 50th (the 27th). I had a party this past weekend out of town and took the Ballantine's along.

Ballantine's 30 along with the Whyte & Mackay 30, Blue Hangar and Johnnie Walker Blue is, in my opinion, one of the best blends one can purchase. The color is a very dark amber in the bottle lightening to a dark gold in the glass. The nose is sweet with hints of peat and oak floating on a sherried background. The taste is soft and full of honey and fruitiness. Pears come to mind. Swishing across the tongue brings out some smokiness and a bit of citrus. The finish is medium long, smooth, fruity, and elegant.

Too bad this scotch is so expensive as more people should be exposed to the finest of the blender's art. An ACE! :thumbs:

Ballantinme's is the 10th largest selling scotch in the world, surely somebody has had one of the other versions.

Way out of my price range AVB,

I have a bottle of the cheapest Ballantine in my bar... I like it, alot better tasting than JW RL (IMO) and costs a few dollars less to boot.

Im sure that there is no way(at this point in time) that I could afford a bottle like that but if you were to recommend one the the Ballantine's that is good but 1)easy(fairly) to find 2)not too much of a crunch on the wallet


CYG

Buy the Ballantine's 17 here for under $90 delivered. Believe me, that is a great price. The 12yo is OK but the 17 gets right up there.

CvilleYoungGun said:

Im sure that there is no way(at this point in time) that I could afford a bottle like that but if you were to recommend one the the Ballantine's that is good but 1)easy(fairly) to find 2)not too much of a crunch on the wallet


CYG

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Thanks for the info, got an order on its way out today.


Thanks

CYG

I'll be looking for your review soon then.

CvilleYoungGun said:

Thanks for the info, got an order on its way out today.

Thanks

CYG

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After reading your review I've decided to purchase a bottle of this for a tasting event with some friends. I'll post my thoughts around Christmas.

I can hardly wait!

Edit: Looks like I jumped the gun. Don't believe the Total Wine web site whatever you do.