ballantine's 17 year old

asim_niazi · October 22 2017 at 8:10AM

Hi found this bottle at a local Japanese store I know of it’s rareity and believe it’s the 1990 bottleing editition, I was wondering what’s the overall rareity of this dram was ? And if it’s the famed batch that Jim Murray reviewed ? Thanks. thi

horst_s_2 · November 6 2017 at 6:50AM

The 17yo was/is quite popular. The 17yo went to the Asian markets due to the shear number 17, which has a special meaning in Asia.

The content is just fine. But it is a Blended Scotch whisky and misses the intensity of the Single Malts, connoisseurs prefer today.

hwchoy · November 6 2017 at 10:41AM

@horst_s

actually I am not aware of any special significance for the number 17 in Asia, which is of course a big place. speaking only for mandarin, hokkien/taiwanese and cantonese speaking regions, we prefer numbers ending with 8, and generally do not prefer those ending in 4. however I think most serious drinkers ignore it.

asim_niazi · November 19 2017 at 6:48AM

@horst_s

Thanks for the knowledge Horst! Would you happen to know by the pictures what year this was bottles in ? I know jim Murray awarded this whiskey best of the year. Is this the same bottle he had ? Any other information would be great. On the nose some alcohol can be picked up and a light sweet scent of fresh green apples, also a sweet earthy/oaky scent with little ppm of smoke. On the pallet I found this whiskey, although being aged 17years has a good a amount of spirit “kick” followed by a citrus note with slight sweetness shining through, some green apple, and slight oakness develops, smoke is subtle 3-5 ppm But for me the the true pleasure is in the finish medium length but with rich mouth watering silkeness, the oil content is quite pleasant paired with this 43% ABV. Also it’s a pleasure that you commented on this post HORST I’m a fan of your YouTube channel and watch it diligently!

horst_s_2 · January 2 2018 at 9:16AM

@asim_niazi Sorry for answering late. But we were very busy.

The bottle looks quite actual. No idea how to find out the bottling year.