Ballantine's 30 Year

I'd read before that this was a great dram, but I didn't expect it to be so incredible. This was a huge experience for me, and it was because of its orange notes; they were simply amazing, I'll get to that later. Bottled at 40% ABV, burnished gold color. On the nose, it was fantastic. First, an elegant sherry note, with some milk chocolate aroma. Then, out of nowhere: KABOOM! Did someone just make fresh orange juice? I'd never experienced such a clean orange note. It was exactly the aroma of cutting a fresh orange in half, putting it in the blender, and then pouring the freshest orange juice ever into your glass. AMAZING. (Spoiler alert for a future review: I also had the Ballantine's 21 and it has the same orange note). On the palate, it was also incredible: milk chocolate, oranges, Amontillado sherry sweetness, clove, and some herbal/lavender notes. Aftertaste was long and rewarding, a strong refined oaky note, with some brown sugar; and then some spices: black pepper and ginger that makes your whole mouth numb. Overall, this was such a nice dram, a little complex but more than that, it was truly enjoyable. My score for it is 100 out of 100, and I definitely recommend it.

Perhaps one of the finest whiskies I wish I could regularly afford. I adored it because no single element overpowered the others. This exhibits a superb, perfect balance of flavors.

Gentle sweet light fruit and peat aroma; taste has an excellent balance of tropical fruit and peat. Smooth. Smoky finish.

Very smooth, has a taste of peat, but it's not too intense. Smooth caramel, great aftertaste.

Tasted at Amsterdam airport duty-free. Significantly better than the 21, but the price is too high for the flavor.

Celebration with my Korean family and friends.