Ballantine’s, the world’s No 2 range of blended Scotch whiskies, is raising a celebratory dram to the news that whisky connoisseur Jim Murray has named Ballantine’s Finest as the Scotch Standard Blended Whisky of the Year.  The awards have been published in Jim Murray’s 2009 Whisky Bible, an annual publication that is regarded as the world’s most influential book on whiskies from around the world.

Ballantine’s Finest, the leading Scotch whisky brand in Europe with the No 1 position in 12 countries, contains more than 40 different malts from the four renowned whisky regions of Scotland – Islay, Highlands, Speyside and Lowlands. Its elegant signature style is a balance of soft and sweet, due to the key malts Glenburgie and Miltonduff. 

As a standard blend Murray describes Ballantine’s Finest as “a major work of art” and adds that only by taking a mouthful can you “experience the work of a blender very much at the top of his game”.  He goes on to describe the blend as “a playful balance and counter-balance between grains, lighter malts and a gentle smokiness”. 

Author of many acclaimed books on whisky, Jim Murray’s immense experience of world whisky has secured his place as an authority on the subject. His Whisky Bible enjoys sales in excess of 145,000 copies worldwide with the latest issue features tasting notes for a staggering 3,850 whiskies.