Taste: Rich and slightly oily. Toffee and caramel commence proceedings and are married very nicely with oranges, citrus peels and a scattering of fresh berries. Spicing is much more perceptible now, and favours the bitter side of things. It delivering cloves, nutmeg and a salty tang. Bitterness is balanced by a large dollop of honey, slightly heathery, but sweet enough to offset some of the heady spices. Smoke is still present, but appears as cask char rather than anything overtly phenolic. The addition of water (it doesn’t take too much, so be particularly sparing) adds a lovely salted caramel flavour as well as general creaminess. Regardless of whether the Service offers the functionality to contribute, you are solely responsible and liable for any content and information that you create, upload, post, publish, link to, duplicate, transmit, record, display or otherwise make available on the Service or to other Members, such as chat messages, text messages, videos, audio, audio recordings, music, pictures, photographs, text and any other information or materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted (“Contributions”).

Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). In 1827, George Ballantine established a grocery store in Edinburgh. His products included a range of whiskies and spirits. George set up a new store in Glasgow in 1865, which he deemed a more profitable location. Whilst he appointed his son Archibald to run the Edinburgh operations. At this time George Ballantine began creating his own blends. It wasn’t until a recent holiday to Greece that I remembered its existence. For reasons unknown, I had decided to take Foucault’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco’s esoteric classic, as my beach read. It’s a book brimming with cryptic clues, cults, mystical notes and numerology. At one point in the story, during a particularly poignant and confusing passage, a character (Jacopo Belbo) bets the protagonist (Casaubon) a bottle of Ballantine’s twelve that he can’t “deliver the Popelicans” in two weeks. The 21 year old sits in the middle of the core aged range of Ballantine’s expressions and was introduced in 1993. Recent bottlings have all been produced at 40% ABV (including the current ‘Signature Oak Edition’), but older versions were delivered a touch higher at 43%. We’re taking at one of the 43%ers in the form of the 21 year old ‘Very Old Scotch Whisky’ produced in the late 1990’s. The Very Old 21 year old is bottled in a blue ceramic decanter produced by the famous Wade Ceramics who have operated from the UK pottery capital of Stoke-on-Trent since 1867. The Wade decanter edition was produced in two sizes – 70cl and 50cl. Whilst long since departed, you’ll still occasionally see both versions for sale at auction – and being a blend, and not a single malt, they can often be acquired at very reasonable prices The Ballantine’s in the cupboard: A review of Ballantine’s 21, via a French supermarket, a Greek beach, and an esoteric pendulum.I googled for a bit, and found the article. I remember thinking: ‘As long as it’s Ballantine’s, that’s fine by me.’ The standard Ballantine’s represents a blended whisky I once drank probably over a decade ago, didn’t like at all, and since has become a bit of a inside joke between me and a friend. Having now finished the book, I’m still unclear who the Popelicans were, and whether or not they were delivered. I can confirm there was no further mention of said Ballantine’s twelve in the story. Anyhow, perhaps inspired by the numerological significance of the inverse digits, I suddenly recalled my twenty-one patiently waiting for me in the cupboard at home. Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates. Taste: Big on the caramel and fudge, with whispers of bitter orange peel, milk chocolate and charred oak. Fairly spicy (that’s the European oak talking) with cloves and nutmeg, followed by a pinch of salt. Ballantine’s is the world’s second best-selling Scotch whisky (Johnnie Walker holding the top spot for many a year). Established in 1827 by George Ballantine, the blend is comprised of 50 single malts, and four grain whiskies, but draws its flavour profile primarily from Speysiders Glenburgie and Miltonduff. Currently owned by big boy Pernod Ricard, the core range of expressions is quite broad, covering NAS’s ‘Finest’ and ‘Limited’ and then extending from 12 years of age all the way to 40 with a fair few pit stops on the way.

Each and every Member must be of legal drinking age in its country of residence to be allowed to use the Service. If no such law exists in a Member’s country of residence, the Member has to be over 21 years old to use the Service. We have the right to ask you to provide proof of your age and/or to provide further identification to prevent underage usage and/or for any other legal or legitimate purpose. By using the Service, and by creating an account you represent, warrant and confirm that you are of legal age. Nothing in the Terms shall exclude or limit our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or for death or personal injury resulting from gross negligence or willful misconduct by us. We deliver to a number of international destinations including the USA. Please use the 'Change Location' link above for an estimate in your local currency or find out more about international delivery That however, was long before I drank their 21 year old expression. As it turns out, this is an excellent whisky. I sincerely hope none of it was spilled one that faithful night in the winter of 2013. Ballantine’s 21 Years Old (43%, OB)

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Born in the year Beethoven died, Ballantine’s began life in 1827 when George Ballantine – a farmer’s son – set up a small grocery store in Edinburgh. Archibald Ballantine, George’s son, later took over the running of the Edinburgh store whilst George expanded operations to Glasgow. It was from here that he really focused on expanding into the spirit trade and blending his own whiskies. A brand marketing blurb suggests that George Ballantine and Son Ltd, as they were then known, even began exporting to India as early as the 1860s. Whiskybase B.V. is the Dutch private limited liability company, having its statutory seat in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and its office at Zwaanshals 530, 3035 KS Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Whiskybase B.V. is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under no. 52072819. Nose: Delicate but nonetheless expressive this starts with sweet orange segments, honey, marmalades and preserves. There’s a gentle smoke here which is slightly mineral in nature and is reinforced by a heavy citrus tang that runs across the entire nose. Old wood and polish are delivered throughout (they’re less prevalent in more modern versions of this whisky) and are supported by some sharp spicing – cloves in particular, but also ginger and salt. A few drops of water brings out the underlying smokiness of the whisky further (though it’s still a subtle constituent rather than a driving force) and heightens the levels of salinity. A whisky that will forever live in my head as a sort of cubist grotesque. A nose the size of Pinocchio and the two faces of Janus, simultaneously looking towards the opposing horizons of sweet and spice. The only quibble is the 40% ABV – it feels like it deserves a bit more punch.

On the nose: An intense hit of sherry-soaked fruitcake immediately transports you to an idealised image of Christmas Day evening. You can almost feel the warm glow of the imagined fire on your cheeks and smell the slight smokiness of burning logs mingling with the creamy vanilla and brandy butter rising out of the glass. Next come the sugary apricots, like the waft of a freshly flipped (apricot) tarte tatin, mixed with figs and wine gums. Then a hint of almonds and more caramel sweetness as everything comes together. I’m briefly overcome by the slight fear that I should’ve saved it for another couple of months, followed by the realisation that it will be hard to find another bottle in the UK for Christmas. Shit. It’s a powerfully complex opening movement and expectations are high. When I wrote the tasting note for Ballantine’s 21 Years Old Blended Whisky, I vaguely remembered a news article from a few years ago. It was about thousands of liters of whisky being accidentally dumped into a sewer at the Chivas Brothers bottling plant in Dumbarton. The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein.