This very old edition of the Ballantine’s 17 Year was bottled sometime in the 1960s, so we can be fairly sure that it contains a good portion of whiskies from the post-war production period and likely some from earlier as well. My fondness for Glenburgie may leave me biased towards some of these old Ballantine’s as Glenburgie has long been a critical malt for the blend.

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Whisky: Ballantine’s 17 Year (c. 1960s)

Country/Region: Scotland/Blend

ABV: 43%

Cask: Oak

Age: 17 Years

Notes: Lemonade, stale coffee, and cigarettes— I was back in the art studio with drafting paper, charcoal, wooden pencils, canvas, and wood frames. The aroma was nostalgic to the point of absurdity with a mustiness that brought me back to the art store my family had when I was child— a hang out place for local illustrators and painters who came to chat, have a smoke, buy supplies, and drink the free coffee. A touch of iron and machine grease lingered further in, rather like the backroom reprographic machinery, with the sweet scent of potting soil. Light bodied, the flavors were less dynamic, though they hit many of the same highs with a mellow citrus not quite reaching lemonade again, but plenty of musty paper, charcoal, and wood stretching across the palate. Cotton and canvas brought me back to charcoal illustration classes with a touch of coconut cake donut to provide an underlying sweetness and some wispy smoke. The finish was mellow, quiet, and long with cake donut, musty potting soil, and charcoal pencils.

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Score: 7-8 (86)

Mental Image: Youthful Fancies in Charcoal

Conclusion: The nostalgia was so intense on this one that I had no idea how to score it— was it really that good? Or was it so infused with memories of art classes and explorations throughout my family’s store that I judged it for the sweetness of those memories? Maybe those can be the same. I revised my score down a bit each time I sat with it as I became more certain that my impression more than a little influenced hefty dose of nostalgia— though this is not the first Ballantine’s or older Glenburgie to bring me back to those memories. Overall, a fine whisky, I wish the contemporary Ballantine’s had more in common with this blend.