hs305 scored this whisky 91 points 
[June, 2017] Hard to select under what Ballantine's 30 year old to add this review - as this was bottled before 1970. So it contains just pre-war whiskies distilled in 1939 latest. As Germany is playing the Confed cup final against Chile right now I think this is a worthy dram for that occasion...
The colour is amber and the texture shows slow legs and late fat tears. The nose is truly complex and full of adorable OBFS (aceton, lacquer paint and more). Its profile is about autumn flowers, dried fruits, whiffs of cold cigar smoke and a lot of sweet aromas (like in some high quality dessert wines). This is nosing heaven: delicate, subtle, greatly balanced yet rich and complex. The initial mouthfeel is warming and coating but with some bitter and adstringent moments as the heavy tannins from these long maturations demand their toll. Nevertheless this is not annoying after the tongue has adapted to it. The taste itself is multi-layered as can be expected from the nose and offers an again superb balanced mix of grassy, flowery, (dried and cooked) fruity and spicy wooden flavours. Less sweetness than expected from the nose. The finish is of medium length and sweeter than the taste (again this dessert wine sweetness). In different vanishing waves lots of hard-to-name aromas roll down the throat with a salty and slightly drying (tannins again) end. Some water opens the nose even further but the bitter flavours on the palate and finish grow in strength too, so I like it better when neat.
A great old dram with a fantastic nose but the taste is somewhat challenging but rewarding too. Highly recommended to everyone that wants to monitor and calibrate his/her olfactory cells and tastebuds...
PS: By the way, Germany just scored 1-0 because of a ridiculous defense fault by Chile (that played better so far)...
The colour is amber and the texture shows slow legs and late fat tears. The nose is truly complex and full of adorable OBFS (aceton, lacquer paint and more). Its profile is about autumn flowers, dried fruits, whiffs of cold cigar smoke and a lot of sweet aromas (like in some high quality dessert wines). This is nosing heaven: delicate, subtle, greatly balanced yet rich and complex. The initial mouthfeel is warming and coating but with some bitter and adstringent moments as the heavy tannins from these long maturations demand their toll. Nevertheless this is not annoying after the tongue has adapted to it. The taste itself is multi-layered as can be expected from the nose and offers an again superb balanced mix of grassy, flowery, (dried and cooked) fruity and spicy wooden flavours. Less sweetness than expected from the nose. The finish is of medium length and sweeter than the taste (again this dessert wine sweetness). In different vanishing waves lots of hard-to-name aromas roll down the throat with a salty and slightly drying (tannins again) end. Some water opens the nose even further but the bitter flavours on the palate and finish grow in strength too, so I like it better when neat.
A great old dram with a fantastic nose but the taste is somewhat challenging but rewarding too. Highly recommended to everyone that wants to monitor and calibrate his/her olfactory cells and tastebuds...
PS: By the way, Germany just scored 1-0 because of a ridiculous defense fault by Chile (that played better so far)...
