In 1827, George Ballentine—a Scottish farmer's son—opened a small shop in Edinburgh to sell fine scotch whiskeys to urban connoisseurs. In 1865, George placed his eldest son, Archibald, in charge of the Edinburgh shop. Meanwhile, George opened another (larger) store, in Glasgow, with his second son, George, Jr. In Glasgow, Ballentine began "blending" whiskey—sometimes using as many as 50 different single malt whiskeys.
In Scotland, any scotch whiskey must be aged for at least three years (or the "youngest" component of a blend must be at least three years old). The longer a whiskey is aged, the more expensive it will be.
The hand-cut crystal whiskey decanter, shown above, was made in the 1950's to present a 30-year-old aged Ballentine's scotch whiskey (which means the liquor began its life in the 1920's). It may seem excessive to provide a hand-cut crystal decanter for a bottle of whiskey at retail. But 30-year-old whiskey is very special. Today, one can find a bottle of 30-year-old Ballentine's scotch whiskey (which was begun in the 1990's) selling for well-over $1,000.00. So this hand-cut crystal decanter was an appropriate investment on the part of Ballentine's.
The decanter still wears its original label proudly. And the bottle is topped with a handsome, "geodesic" cut-crystal stopper. Click on the photo above to learn more about it.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248