That story began back in 1827, when George Ballantine opened his first grocery business, having been born near Edinburgh and taken up an apprenticeship as a shopkeeper at the age of 13. Following the completion of his five year apprenticeship, Ballantine set up his own business, ultimately running profitable outlets in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.

A contemporary of the 'father of blending,' Andrew Usher, Ballantine experimented with vatting single malts, and his sons followed on by developing the origins of the blend we know today. George Ballantine was also an early convert to the importance of choosing good wood in which to mature spirit, and, unusually for the time, he laid down whiskies for considerable periods. As early as1927, Ballantine's were offering 17 and 30-year-old expressions. By that date the company was also using American White Oak for maturation purposes, giving the blend its characteristic creamy, vanilla notes.

As part of the revitalisation of Ballantine's, Sandy Hyslop has recently been appointed Master Blender for the brand. Remarkably, he is only the fifth Master blender in the whisky's 175 year history. Hyslop's career in the Scotch whisky industry began in Dundee in 1983, and nine years later he embarked on an apprenticeship under Ballantine's then Master Blender, Jack Goudy, finally working as part of the blending team at Ballantine's headquarters in Dumbarton. He succeeds Robert Hicks, who was the brand's Master Blender from 1994 until the Allied dispersal last year.

There is a definite 'family resemblance' right through the range, with key characteristics being elegance, sweetness, softness and balance. Finest is soft, sweet and comparatively light in character, lively, but with a satisfying element of complexity, offering apple, vanilla and a floral finish.

Size: 5 CL
Format: Plastic
Alcohol: 40%Vol.