2011 Championship Blend By Ballantine

Marcus Fraser, the winner of the 2010 Ballantine’s Championship, has collaborated with Ballantine’s Master Blender Sandy Hyslop to create the 2011 Championship Blend. The Scotch contains whiskies aged for at least 38 years. Only 10 bottles are being produced and as reigning Ballantine’s Championship winner, Fraser will receive one of them. One bottle will also be reserved for the 2011 champion and another will be auctioned for charitable causes during the 2011 tournament, which will take place at Seoul’s Blackstone Golf Club Icheon next April.

“It is very impressive seeing Ballantine’s Master Blender Sandy Hyslop in his element,” said Fraser, “with his enthusiasm, experience and knowledge of all the different flavors and how they can be used together to come up with a final product.” Hyslop guided Fraser through the delicate blending process and describes the resulting product as being “extremely fruity, with lots of soft fruit flavors, allied with some lovely, creamy background flavors, and when you taste it the whisky’s finish just seems to last forever. Marcus obviously has a bit of a sweet tooth, as some of the flavors he has chosen have given the Championship Blend a beautifully sweet top dressing.”

The Ballantine’s Championship began in 2008 as an event co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.