Ballantine's is one of the great old names of Scotch blending, and this is the twelve year old expression at the heart of its range. It is a blended Scotch whisky, which means malt and grain whiskies from different distilleries brought together into one bottle, and the twelve year figure is the minimum age of everything inside it, not an average.
- Blended Scotch whisky, 12 years old.
- 40% ABV, 70cl bottle.
- Malt and grain whiskies, married together.
- Honey, vanilla and ripe orchard fruit.
- A long, creamy finish.
How it is made
Blended Scotch is an assembly job, and a hard one. Single malt whiskies bring character, weight and smoke; grain whiskies bring softness and volume, and a blender works across dozens of casks to land on the same taste every time. The age statement on the label is the youngest whisky in the blend. Everything else in the bottle is at least that old, often older.
How it tastes
Smooth and well balanced, with honey, vanilla and ripe orchard fruit up front, a gentle thread of spice through the middle, and a long, creamy finish. Nothing shouts. That evenness is the point of a good twelve year old blend, and it is why the style has held its place for so long.
Good to know
Scotland's whisky regions are not a legal system, they are a map of habit. Speyside, the north east corner around the River Spey, holds more distilleries than anywhere else in the country and is known for soft, fruity, honeyed malt. A blend like this draws on that character alongside grain whisky from further south, which is what keeps the whole thing gentle rather than heavy.
