Ballantines Finest whisky was Jim Murray's No Age Statement Blend of the Year with a whopping 96 points! The critic seems to have a real penchant for the brand, awarding the 17 year old expression a similar score. Ballantines Finest is a great all-rounder - easy-going and very flavoursome. A classic blend.
Expressive, crisp barley sugars. Touch of wood smoke, toffee.
Rich and sweet. Barley and caramel, very gentle peat.
Soft and sweet, fudge.
Sweet, smooth and classy. No off notes. If I wanted to be unkind I could say it is a little dull, but I do rather like this so I wont say that :-)
Excellent taste
Sweet and sort of bland. Not an entirely bad tipple and certainly better than the notorious Johnnie Walker Red Label, but others in that price range are much better (Teachers, Black Bottle come to mind). If you're willing to pay more but want to stay in the Ballantine's range, the 12 year old blend is a huge improvement over this.
Its so sexy and fine just like man
I've finally settled on Ballantine's as my evening tipple when I'm not in the mood to drink the expensive stuff. It's obviously not up there with the deluxe blends, but IMO it's a better whiskey than its competitors. Definitely worth a try if you don't know it.
