Ballantines Scotch Whisky 30 Year Old Bottled 1990s

Ballantines Scotch Whisky 30 Year Old Bottled 1990s

Ballantine’s is a brand of blended Scotch whisky produced in Dumbarton, Scotland. It is the second biggest-selling Scotch in the world after Johnnie Walker albeit with less than half the sales volume of its competitor and has a traditionally very strong presence in southern European and Asian markets.

Similar to Johnnie Walker, the brand has its roots in a small grocery store, this time set up in Edinburgh by farmer’s son George Ballantine. In 1865, he opened a wines and spirits business in Glasgow, creating his own blends and developing an international client list.

The firm was sold in 1919 and the Ballantine’s name was retained as a brand for the new owners’ blends. It was then acquired by Hiram Walker of Canada in 1937.

By the 1960s, trade was focused on mainland Europe. The brand moved to Allied Domecq in 1988, then Pernod Ricard in 2005.

The core product, Ballantine’s Finest, is a blend of around 50 single malts with an emphasis on the Chivas-owned Miltonduff and Glenburgie distilleries. There are also various aged expressions, including a 40-year-old whisky, which is one of the most expensive blended whiskies on the market.

In 2002 the Dumbarton Grain distillery was mothballed, with production moved to the Strathclyde Grain distillery in the Gorbals district of Glasgow. The company still operates a bonded warehouse and bottling plant in its original location.