Product description
Ballantine 17 years old debuted in 1937, just after the rights to the brand were acquired by the Canadian concern Hiram Walker & Sons. It was the creation of the master blender George Robertson, James Barclay and James Horn.
The whisky was billed as “The Scotch” as it was truly unique at the time, with no other on the market. The original formula for the whisky listed what the Scotch Whisky Association would call “Ballantine’s Magnificent Seven” – the single malts Ardbeg, Balblair, Glenburgie, Glencadam, Miltonduff, Pulteney and Scapa. Ballantine’s is now in the portfolio of Chivas Bros., a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard, and it is likely that the “original few greats” (certainly Ardbeg, very likely Balblair, Pulteney and Glencadam) have been replaced by new ones.
Aroma : slightly smoky, spring meadow, honey, caramel, vanilla, buttered toast, apples, pears, raisins, a handful of herbs from the garden and oak.
Palate: vanilla, toffee, honey, milk chocolate, caramel, banana cake, baked apples and pears, cinnamon, oak and a fleeting hint of smoke.
Finish: quite long, with notes of honey, vanilla, dried herbs, a bit of hay and tobacco, oak and to a lesser extent peat.