Ballantine's

ScotlandBlendedWorld No.2

Started1827

HomeDumbarton · Scotland

OwnerPernod Ricard

StyleBlended Scotch

Signature maltsGlenburgie · Miltonduff

CoreFinest · 12 · 17 · 21 · 30

The world's second best-selling Scotch blend. Its 17-year-old was, for a generation, the symbol of premium blends in Korea.

Flavourofficial / critical

HoneyVanillaAppleHazelnutSoft oakLight smoke

Glossaryfor beginners

Blended ScotchA Scotch made by marrying malt whiskies from several distilleries with grain whisky. Its strengths are consistency and smoothness.

Signature maltsThe core single malts that form a blend's backbone. Ballantine's leans on Glenburgie and Miltonduff.

17 Year OldFirst created in 1937, Ballantine's flagship aged blend — long regarded as a blender's point of pride.

Master blenderThe person who sets the ratios of dozens of whiskies to recreate the same taste year after year — the keeper of Ballantine's identity.

Range & Collections

FinestThe no-age-statement flagship. A soft balance of honey and vanilla; the best-selling expression.

12 Year OldA step up in smoothness, with clearer floral notes and sweetness.

17 Year OldThe icon, born in 1937. Long loved for its light smoke and deep sweetness.

21 · 30 Year OldThe aged upper range — collector and gift territory.

Signature malt seriesGlenburgie, Miltonduff and other core malts bottled on their own.

Value by AgeData-based2026.6 as of

FinestFlagship · entry~£22

12 Year OldThe balance point~£35

17 Year OldIcon · aged~£75

★ Ballantine's 17Symbol of premium blends in Korea · Created in 1937~£75

Ballantine's value lies in share and consistency rather than scarcity — it is the world's second best-selling blended Scotch, behind Johnnie Walker. The 17, first created in 1937, has long been a blender's point of pride, and in Korea it became shorthand for a premium blend through the 1990s and 2000s. Aged expressions like the 30 fill the collector and gifting tier.

Sales rank — industry estimates · Prices are approximate retail / duty-free · Not a personal tasting score

How It’s Made

Ballantine's is not the spirit of one distillery but a blended Scotch married from some 40 malt and grain whiskies. Signature malts like Glenburgie and Miltonduff form the backbone, with light smoke beneath a soft sweetness of honey, vanilla and apple. The heart of it is recreating the same taste each year — the master blender tunes the ratios of dozens of whiskies to hold that consistency.

World's No.2 Scotch blendThe second best-selling blended Scotch after Johnnie Walker, widely distributed across Europe and Asia.

Signature maltsCore single malts like Glenburgie and Miltonduff form the backbone and give a consistent sweetness.

The icon that is the 17Born in 1937, the 17 has long been a blender's pride and came to represent premium blends in Korea.

Korea's premium marketThrough the 1990s and 2000s, in Korea's high-end spirits market Ballantine's was simply another word for a premium blend.

History

It began in 1827 when George Ballantine opened a grocer's shop in Edinburgh. Blending whiskies to suit customers grew into a brand, and it spread worldwide on the blended-Scotch boom of the late 19th century. The 17 of 1937 set a benchmark for aged blends, and today, under Pernod Ricard, Ballantine's holds its place as the world's second best-selling Scotch blend.

How It’s Drunk

In Korea, Ballantine's — and the 17 in particular — defined an era of premium blends. In a culture of business entertaining and gifting, 'Ballantine's 17' was another name for fine whisky, and that image lingers. Its strength is a smoothness that offends no palate rather than a bold character, which makes it a common recommendation for newcomers to blends.

◆The Right GlassSignature

As a soft blend it takes neat, on the rocks or as a highball equally well. Finest and the 12 open slowly over a single large ice cube or mix happily with soda, while the 17 and up deserve a Glencairn or copita to savour the grain of light smoke and sweetness.

→ Copita vs Glencairn → The science of the highball