Today I look at the Ballantine’s 17 yo Scapa Signature Distillery blended Scotch whisky. I have often written about my love for Ballantine’s whisky.

Ballantine’s Finest was the first blended dram to earn a Divine rating. The highest rating on my rating scale. I try to extend my Ballantine’s whisky collection whenever I can. I also love the standard 17 year old whisky from Ballantine’s.

Then I saw that Chivas Brothers launched four Ballantine’s expressions under the new line, Signature Distillery Editions. Scapa (targeted at the Korean market), Glenburgie (release for travel retail), Miltonduff and Glentauchers.

According to Sandy Hyslop, Ballantine’s master blender:
“Ballantine’s 17 Year Old is a blend of more than 40 different malt and grain whiskies from all over Scotland, but Scapa, Glenburgie, Miltonduff and Glentauchers stand out as having played a monumental role in the blending process of our master blenders over the years.”

The Signature Distillery Editions are intended to highlight each of the blend’s major contributing distilleries’ character and influence.

The Ballantine’s 17 yo Scapa Signature Distillery Edition whisky has been created to enhance the influence of Scapa and to highlight this Orcadian part. Situated on the island of Orkney in the Northern Highlands, Scapa is not far from Highland Park.

John managed to find a bottle on his travels and brought it home. However, this blend has stood on my shelf for nearly a year, and I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to taste it. Today turned out to be that opportunity.

Also Read: Glengoyne 17 year old whisky

Ballantine’s 17 yo Scapa Edition Whisky Review

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Light golden.

NOSE: There is so much going on in the nose. It is a riot of ripe fruit, marshmallows, toffee, cherries and raisin pudding. In the background, there are faint hints of salt, seaweed and smoke. There is a wonderfully rich, complex, layered nose to this whisky.

PALATE: On the palate, there is sweetness, followed by loads of spice and oak. There is fruit sweetness balanced with toffee, smoke and warming spices. Even without water, this whisky is delicious and smooth. A huge mouthful. The addition of water further transforms this dram. It becomes rich and creamy and absolutely brilliant.

FINISH: Long and lingering, and build slowly. It ends in the perfect balance of sweetness and spice.

RATING: DIVINE

I fell in love with the flavour profile of the Ballantine’s brand. It has the perfect balance of rich, robust spicy sweetness; the flavour profile is for me, what whisky should taste like. There has been only one Ballantine’s that I have not rated Divine and that was the Ballantine’s 12 year old whisky.

The biggest problem with this Ballantine’s Scapa Edition? It is not available in South Africa, and it is sadly a limited release. All I want to do is sit back and pour another one. But I will be strong and save it for a special occasion.

I have also tried the Ballantine’s 30 year old whisky as well as Balantine’s Limited Edition, and you can see what I thought about it.

Also read: Johnnie Walker Platinum Label vs Gold Label whisky

Glenlivet 12 year old Single Malt Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/07/2015

In Single Malt whisky

I grew up with a dad who enjoyed whisky. His favourite drams were Dimple and Chivas Regal. This shaped the way I enjoyed whisky and early on, I gravitated to blended whisky too. One day, a friend poured me a Glenlivet 12 year old single malt Scotch whisky and it blew me away.

The smooth complex flavours just knocked my socks off. I still hold the Glenlivet 12 year old close to my heart.

The Glenlivet distillery is a Speyside distillery in Moray, Scotland. The distillery draws water from Josie’s Well and other springs a short distance from the distillery. George Smith was the first distiller to legally distil whisky in the Speyside region.

He took the brave step of applying for a license following the Excise Act of 1823, much to the unhappiness of his neighbours. He established The Glenlivet on a farm distillery called Upper Drummin in 1824. Glenlivet became so synonymous with quality that more and more distillers started using the name.

To help keep the brand, George Smith’s son, John Gordon Smith, applied for sole rights to the name. In 1884, this was granted. The distillery is owned by Chivas Brothers, themselves a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. The Glenlivet is the world’s second best-selling single malt and it is one of the top sellers in the US.

The Glenlivet 12 year old Scotch is matured in a mixture of American and European Oak. Much to my horror, I noted that The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve will replace The Glenlivet 12 year old in mature malt markets, including the UK from 2015.

Related Article: Glenfiddich 12 yo Whisky

Glenlivet 12 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Light golden wheat

NOSE: Sweet with tropical fruits, vanilla and cereals. There are hints of spice and grassy notes floating in the background. The nose is light and fresh.

PALATE: Without water, there are lots of fruits, cinnamon and nutmeg that mix with the oak and barley notes. It is not as sweet as you would expect after the promises of the sweet nose.

Adding a few drops of water smooths the spices and more apple, honey and summer fruit appear. Water allows the Glenlivet 12 year old to show its’ full complexity. Regardless, it is rich and creamy and delicious.

FINISH: Medium length and end in lots of fresh fruit, nuts and hints of lemon.

RATING: EXCELLENT

Certainly, a perfectly fruity dram to usher in Spring with. We have also tried both the Glenlivet 18 year oldand the Glenlivet 15 year old bottled by Signatory for Whisky Brother shop and rated both these expressions as Excellent.

As part of my comparative series, I have done a comparison between the Glenfiddich 12 year old and the Glenlivet 12 year old single malt whisky to see who they compare when you have them side by side. In South Africa, the Glenlivet 12 year old single malt retails for around R 500 and in India for about ₹ 5,656.

I am sure the Founders Reserve is not a bad whisky, but it is not my beloved 12 year old. I will have to stockpile an extra bottle just to make sure I don’t run out too soon.

Food pairings

The Glenlivet 12 year old will pair wonderfully with cheese. I have tried it with a goats cheese flavoured with Italian herbs and it was a creamy dream. It will also work very well with salmon sashimi and delicate seafood such as seared scallops or prawns. Even some smoked duck will bring out amazing things in this Speyside release.

Related Article: Tamnavulin Double Cask Whisky

Ballantine’s 12 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/24/2015

In Blended whisky

After trying it for the first time last year, Ballantines has quickly become my favourite blended whisky. The Ballantine’s Finest received my first divine rating, and the Ballantine’s 17 year old was my Blend of the Year 2014.

Based on 2013 case volume sales, Ballantine’s is the number 2 Scotch whisky brand in the world. I added the Ballantine’s 12 year old blended Scotch whisky to the collection, and my collection has grown to over nine different expressions.

The brand is owned by Pernod Ricard and produced in Dumbarton, Scotland. Ballantine’s Scotch whisky dates back to 1827. George Ballantine began supplying a selected range of blended Scotch whiskies to distinguished customers from his grocery store in Edinburgh.

Related Article: J&B Rare Whisky

In 1938 they received the Grant of Heraldic Arms featured on their bottles. It recognized George Ballantine & Sons as an ‘incorporation noble on the Nobleness of Scotland’. The key ingredients in the Ballantine’s blends are Miltonduff and Glenburgie together with whisky from around fifty other malt distilleries as well as from four other grain distilleries.

We took this bottle with us on our trip to the Drakensberg mountains. It was the perfect accompaniment for the blue sky and the beautiful mountains.

Ballantine’s 12 year old Whisky Review

ABV: 43%.

COLOUR: Light golden. It is a medium oily whisky.

NOSE: Sweet with notes of fresh-cut flowers, condensed milk and oak. There are hints of vanilla in the background. The nose is nicely balanced and subtle.

PALATE: Quite spicy with hints of plump raisins. The Ballantine’s 12 year old whisky is rich and creamy smooth. Toffee notes appear after a bit. This blended whisky has a big mouthfeel and is lovely and chewy. Water smooths out the spicy notes and softens the hints of pepper. It brings a lightness to the glass and enhances the sweetness.

FINISH: Wonderful and long. It begins big and then fades away slowly leaving hints of spice and fruit.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The Ballantine’s 12 year old blended Scotch whisky has become our ‘go-to’ whisky for a relaxing, uncomplicated dram. It kicked my beloved Johnnie Walker Black Label off the Number 1 spot on our favourite list.

However, the question is: is the Ballantine‘s 12 year old as good as the 17 year old whisky? Not quite. The Ballantine’s 17 whisky blew my minds with its complexity and smooth, creamy quality.

However, this 12 year old is much more affordable than the Ballantine’s 17 year old as well as the Ballantine’s 30 year old and at the price point, a whisky you can drink again and again. This bottle cost around ₹ 5,650 in India.

I have found a Ballantine’s 7 year old Bourbon finish release that I wrote about as well.

Also read: Dewar’s 12 yo whisky

Longmorn 15 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/09/2015

In Single Malt whisky

One of the great joys of collecting whisky is obtaining a limited release bottle that is no longer in production. That is the case with today’s whisky, The Longmorn 15 year old single malt Scotch whisky. John Duff, Charles Shirres and George Thomson founded the Longmorn Distillery Company in 1893.

He also founded the Glenlossie distillery two decades earlier. After some time at Glenlossie, Duff moved to South Africa to start a distillery in Transvaal. Duff invested large sums of money there, but the South African president Paul Kruger wasn’t supportive of his plans.

At some point, he decided the circumstances in South Africa were not suitable. He left for the USA to open a distillery there. Soon Duff found that he was not entirely welcome either, and he failed again. He returned to Scotland, and the Longmorn distillery started production in December 1894.

A short while later, Duff built the Benriach Distillery next to Longmorn, but the Pattison Crisis affected both. Longmorn changed hands various times, and it is currently part of the Chivas Brothers empire now owned by Pernod Ricard.

Following the acquisition, Longmorn got a facelift. In 2007 Longmorn revamped the range, and the 15 year old release was replaced by a 16 year old whisky. Today Longmorn distillery no longer offer the 15 year old whisky.

The Longmorn 15 year old single malt whisky had been very highly rated, with the Whisky Bible awarding it a 93. It was thus with great anticipation that I opened the bottle.

Related Article: Glenfarclas 17 yo whisky

Longmorn 15 year old Whisky Review

REGION: Highland

ABV: 45%

COLOUR: A polished copper colour with hints of orange.

NOSE: Brings malty sherry sweetness, but there is a surprising amount of alcohol bite to the nose. The alcohol vapour is overwhelming some of the Longmorn nosing notes.

After standing for a while, some of the vanilla and florals come through, but the nose is very subtle and individual notes are hard to pick up. There are some hints of apricot in the background.

PALATE: Without any water, the palate has loads of malt, spice and wood. There is a bit of Demerara sugar in the background, but it is not as sweet as we expected. After adding some water to the Longmorn, the spice is still overwhelming.

here are notes of black pepper and ginger mixed with a citrus bitterness. It is quite an oily whisky with a medium mouthfeel. Unfortunately, the whole mouth experience is very spicy.

FINISH: Surprisingly short and end in notes of spice and bitter orange peel.

RATING: GOOD

After reading all the reviews, I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting a bold, flavourful dram. Based on some internet feedback, this 15 year old Longmorn whisky is better than the new 16 yo release.

It is safe to say that I would not be rushing out to add the Longmorn 16 year old to my collection in a hurry. With all the spiciness, it might be a good whisky to pair with cheese. Any thoughts on this older Longmorn release?

Also Read: Glen Scotia 15 yo whisky

Glenlivet 15 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 01/08/2015

In Single Malt whisky

At the beginning of this year, I got the chance to taste something extraordinary. WhiskyBrother, the iconic speciality whisky store in Hyde Park, sent me a sample of their new, personally selected WhiskyBrother Glenlivet 15 year old single malt Scotch whisky.

I could not wait to try this little gem. I decided to have a special early tasting just for this. Marc Pendlebury, the founder of the WhiskyBrother store, chose this Glenlivet 15 yo whisky on behalf of the store. It is a Glenlivet 1998 single malt whisky release, and it was bottled exclusively for WhiskyBrother.

Earlier in 2014, Marc travelled to Scotland. He spent some time with the independent bottler, Signatory. The benefit of an independent bottler is the huge selection and variety of whisky that they can offer.

It is often a misconception that independent bottlers produce whisky. Independent bottlers buy casks from distilleries and bottle it under their own label. They are also not restricted to a core range, style or age.

Out of the several whiskies that Marc tasted at Signatory, he brought three samples back to South Africa for final selection. The winning cask was chosen solely on the whisky Marc thought was best. He didn’t concern himself with which distillery it came from or how old it was

Related Article: Whisky Ratings

Glenlivet 15 year old Whisky Review

The selected 15 yo Glenlivet cask was distilled on the 28^th of August 1998 and bottled on the 24^th of March 2014. The Whiskybrother Signatory Glenlivet 15 year old whisky is individually numbered and presented in a beautiful bottle. It was matured in a 500-litre butt, which previously contained Oloroso sherry. The Glenlivet is not chill-filtered and naturally coloured.

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 54.8%

COLOUR: What an amazingly dark whisky. It has a dark copper, nearly amber colour. It is a very oily whisky making long slow fingers on the side of the glass.

NOSE: You can not miss the sherry notes on the nose. There are notes of raisins and sherry soaked plums and cherries. Closing your eyes, you get Christmas pudding sweetness and hints of vanilla mixed with the oak. When you add a few drops of water, you get more hints of toffee and caramel.

PALATE: It is surprisingly spicy on the palate. The nose suggested fruit sweetness, but the palate delivered spice and oak. There are hints of ginger, cinnamon and cloves before the sherry sweetness comes through.

FINISH: This smooth whisky has a medium length finish that ends in leather and citrus marmalade notes.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The Glenlivet 15 year old is exclusively available at WhiskyBrother, and there is a limited number. If you live in Johannesburg, make a plan to head over to WhiskyBrother. Marc, please keep us a bottle of this special WhiskyBrother Glenlivet before they all disappear.

WhiskyBrother regularly releases their own special bottlings. Lately, some of these special releases have even won prizes, so it is worth keeping an eye on the shop to see what else they have.

Also read: Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX whisky

Meandering the world, one whisky at a time

Tag: Pernod Ricard Page 6 of 7

Ballantine’s 17 yo Scapa Signature Distillery Whisky

Ballantine’s 17 yo Scapa Edition Whisky Review

Glenlivet 12 year old Single Malt Whisky

Glenlivet 12 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review

Food pairings

Ballantine’s 12 year old Whisky

Ballantine’s 12 year old Whisky Review

Longmorn 15 year old Whisky

Longmorn 15 year old Whisky Review

Glenlivet 15 year old Whisky

Glenlivet 15 year old Whisky Review