Ballantines 17 years

Score: 62

Ballantine’s 17 Year Old opens with quiet confidence, honeyed cereal, soft orchard fruits, and a trace of leather-bound books. It’s a dram that doesn’t seek attention, but earns respect. The nose is layered yet restrained, offering mochaccino warmth, Madeira-soaked sponge, and a flicker of smoke. It’s the kind of aroma that invites you to lean in, not rush through. On the palate, it’s composed and balanced: vanilla fudge, cut herbs, and a touch of citrus, all wrapped in a gentle wisp of peat. There’s a vegetal undercurrent—dried grass and polished oak, that adds a contemplative depth, like walking through a quiet library with a dram in hand. It’s smooth, but not simple. Refined, but not aloof. The finish is long and dry, with lingering fruit, cocoa husk, and a faint echo of smoke—like the last notes of a well-aged symphony fading into silence. It doesn’t dazzle, but it resonates. In the tasting, Ballantine’s 17 came 5th out of 6. Not because it lacked quality, but because it played a quieter tune in a room full of louder performers. It’s a whisky for those who appreciate balance over bravado, and subtlety over spectacle. A blend that rewards patience, and one that reminds us that elegance still has a place at the table—even if it doesn’t always win the vote.