The weather is turning cold, so that means more bottles of whiskey are starting to pop out.
Yes, whisky is perfect for almost any occasion, but for most people it’s best during winter.
If you are one of the people who loves scotch whisky, Inland Brand Ambassador for Ballantine’s Scotch Whisky, Minenhle Radebe has shared with us how you can best enjoy Ballantine’s this winter.
Warm whisky drink
If you are a fan of spicy drinks, try having a hot toddy, a warm whisky cocktail. The ingredients are:
¼ cup hot water
50ml Ballantine’s
25ml honey
20ml lemon juice
1 lemon slice
1 cinnamon stick (for garnish, optional)
Method
Boil water and pour into a mug.
Pour Ballantine's Finest, honey, lemon juice and stir (add more honey or lemon for taste).Garnish with a lemon slice, cinnamon stick and enjoy!
Traditional whisky drinker
If you are a bit of a traditionalist, enjoy Ballantine's Finest neat in a tulip-shaped whisky glass to experience optimal flavours and aromas from the liquid.
Bitter and sweet whisky drink
If you enjoy drinking with your friends, try out Manhattan, which is sweet or bitter combination, just like an Old Fashioned. The ingredients for a Manhattan are:
50ml Ballantine’s
25ml sweet Vermouth
1 to 2 dashes of bitters, such as Angostura
Orange peel length
Method
Pour everything into a mixer with ice, shake and then pour the liquid into a martini glass, add the orange peel and enjoy!
Whisky and water
If you're a bit of a purist and want to get the full flavour out of your Ballantine's Finest whisky, drink it as our master blenders would: by adding a bit of water to your whisky. This helps reduce the alcohol content. Make sure that the water is room temperature as this is ideal for bringing out the aromas and flavour of the whisky.
Blends vs single malts
There’s a huge perception in the world of whisky that single malts are “better” than blends, however this is not entirely true; both categories are great in their own respect.Many have referred to distillation as a science and referred to blending as an art, an art that we believe our founder, George Ballantine, perfected. Instead of getting his whiskies in Edinburgh, he blended his whiskies from the four main whisky regions of Scotland, blending over forty single malts and four grain whiskies to create Ballantine’s Finest, a perfectly balanced blended Scotch