Ballantines 30 years Blended Scotch Whisky

Quite simply, “magnifico!”. A masterpiece of blending and a relentless winner of competitions.

We hunted down a real Ballantines aficionado who gave us this:

NOSE: The nose explodes with richness and complexity. It has honey, Christmas cake, caramel, toffee dried oak, vanilla and sherry with faint hints of smoke. All wonderfully combined.

PALATE: Rich and full-bodied, it is super smooth. Bits of oak spice swirling around dried fruits and nuts. Dark chocolate and treacle lurk somewhere with suggestions of smoke. Each sip brings out different notes on the palette.  The Ballantine’s 30 yo has a beautiful balance between spicy and sweet.  Adding water softens the spices a bit, and it is better without water.

FINISH: This is probably the best finish I have had in a long, long time. It never ends! It’s just brilliant going on and on and slowly slipping away like a sunset but leaving a wonderful glow.

Best finish in a long time hey?