Ballantine's whiskies

Over the last 190 years, Ballantine’s has grown into a brand synonymous with Scotch, just as Hoover is to vacuum cleaners, or Xerox to copiers. Unsurprisingly, it now ranks as the second biggest selling Scotch whisky in the world. So how do you go from what was once a small grocery store to one of the world’s greatest whisky brands?

19-year-old George Ballantine established his store in Edinburgh back in 1827, and as was customary in those days he began to sell his own blend of whisky. His blend proved so popular that over time he enlisted the services of his three sons to help meet demand and so George Ballantine & Son’s blend came to be. George Sr. passed away in 1891 leaving his son George II at the helm, overseeing continued growth that culminated in a prestigious Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria after her 1895 regal visit to Glasgow.

In 1910, Ballantine’s Finest was first blended. Later, the iconic square bottle was brought in to allow easy concealment of bottles in briefcases during prohibition in the USA. The blend remains the global flagship to this day, with global sales approaching 200,000 bottles per day. Yep, per day. Just let that sink in for a moment.

George II sold the business to Barclay and McKinlay in 1919, who in turn sold to Canadian firm Hiram Walker – Gooderham & Worsts in 1935. At the same time, Hiram Walker also purchased several distilleries to supply the blend, among them Glenburgie and most importantly The Miltonduff, which continues to be the foundation of Ballantine’s now. In 1936, the massive Dumbarton complex was built to house what was at the time the largest grain distillery in Europe. Growth continued unabated, entering Europe in the 1960s where it reigned supreme as the number one Scotch whisky for many decades. Hiram Walker was taken over by Allied Domecq in the 1988, with current owners Pernod Ricard taking over in 2005.

Ballantine’s core range includes: the Finest blend, produced from the original 1910 recipe; the creamy and sweet 12 Years; the smoky, spicy Hard Fired; and the lime-infused Brasil. But all the usuals aside, they’ve now come to their senses and decided to showcase the blend’s signature malts on their own, in the biggest surprise launch that no one saw coming: Ballantine’s 17 Year Old Single Malt Trilogy. A unique partnership between Ballantine's and The Whisky Club that unveiled single malt Scotch whiskies sourced from Ballantine’s three illustrious distilleries: the gold-medal-winning Glenburgie, Miltonduff, and Glentauchers.