Ballantine’s has put a golf-shaped twist on two of its older blends, and the catch for most readers is geography: you can only buy them in South Korea.
The Ballantine’s x Malbon collaboration, unveiled at a launch event in Seoul on 28 May 2026, pairs the Scotch house with Malbon, a lifestyle golf brand known for its streetwear-led take on the sport and its “Buckets” mascot. The result is two limited edition whiskies and a capsule clothing collection, all built around a campaign Ballantine’s calls “Time Well Spent at the 19th Hole.” Both whiskies are bottled at 40% ABV.
The headline release is the 21 Year Old, a Korea travel retail exclusive. The second is a 17 Year Old made for the Korean domestic market only. Neither is sold in Europe, the UK, or the US.
The key facts up front
Two blends, two markets, one design language. The 21 Year Old is a travel retail exclusive that goes on sale from mid-June 2026 across Korea duty free, including departures and arrivals stores at Incheon, Gimpo, and Gimhae airports, a pop-up at Jeju, and the downtown JTO duty free store in Jeju. The 17 Year Old is restricted to the Korean domestic market.
Packaging is where the two brands meet. Malbon’s Buckets logo sits at the centre of the design, wrapped in custom graphics that riff on golf ball dimple patterns, with Scottish-inspired prints carried across into the apparel capsule.
Ballantine’s has not published a recommended retail price for either Malbon bottle. As a reference point, the standard Ballantine’s 21 Year Old typically sells for around 185 USD per 70cl, so expect the collaboration to sit at or above that for the 21 Year Old.
What the blends are actually doing: Glentauchers and Glenburgie
This is where it gets interesting for anyone who cares about what goes into a blend.
The 21 Year Old uses a higher proportion of Glentauchers single malt. Glentauchers is a Speyside distillery whose spirit runs light, grassy, and delicate, and it has long been a workhorse malt for blenders. Ballantine’s likens its role here to the putter in a golfer’s bag: chosen for precision and a clean finish rather than power.
The 17 Year Old leans on a higher proportion of Glenburgie. Glenburgie is the malt most closely tied to the Ballantine’s identity, a Speyside spirit that brings weight and length to the blend. Ballantine’s compares it to the driver: built for distance and depth.
If you strip away the golf metaphors, the pitch is straightforward. These are two age-stated Ballantine’s blends, each tilted toward a different signature Speyside malt, dressed for a younger Korean audience that Ballantine’s wants to bring into the brand.
Tasting notes
These notes are published by Ballantine’s. We have not tasted either bottle.
Ballantine’s x Malbon 21 Year Old
Nose: freshly cut orange, red apple, cranberry, raspberry jam on buttered toast, crème brûlée, caramel, hazelnut, oak spice
Palate: summer berries, fresh strawberry, stewed cherry, blackcurrant, cinnamon, clove, orange marmalade
Finish: rich, fruity, spiced
ABV: 40% | Signature malt: higher proportion Glentauchers | Market: Korea travel retail
Ballantine’s x Malbon 17 Year Old
Nose: crisp red apple, poached pear, grapefruit, lemon curd, baked malt biscuit, chocolate, toasted coconut
Palate:mango, green apple, vanilla, nougat, toffee, gingerbread, a touch of bonfire smoke
Finish: creamy, fruity, sweet
ABV:40% | Signature malt: higher proportion Glenburgie | Market: Korea domestic only
How the two compare
| 21 Year Old | 17 Year Old | |
|---|---|---|
| ABV | 40% | 40% |
| Signature malt | Higher proportion Glentauchers | Higher proportion Glenburgie |
| Likened to | The putter: delicacy, precision | The driver: length, power |
| Nose | Orange, red apple, cranberry, raspberry jam | Red apple, pear, grapefruit, malt biscuit |
| Palate | Summer berries, cherry, clove, marmalade | Mango, vanilla, toffee, light bonfire smoke |
| Finish | Rich, fruity, spiced | Creamy, fruity, sweet |
| Market | Korea travel retail exclusive | Korea domestic only |
| On sale | From mid-June 2026 | 2026 |
Who Malbon is, and why Korea
Malbon Golf is a Los Angeles label that built a following by treating golf as streetwear and culture rather than country-club uniform. That fits the strategic logic here. South Korea has one of the fastest-evolving golf scenes in the world, with a younger generation reshaping how the game is worn and socialised, and Ballantine’s is the number one blended Scotch in Korea travel retail. Pairing an older, premium blend with a brand that already speaks to that audience is a way of pulling younger travellers toward 17 and 21 year old whisky.
Our take on it
For the whisky on the shelf, this is not a new liquid story so much as a new dressing on two existing age-stated blends, with the proportions nudged toward Glentauchers and Glenburgie respectively. If you already enjoy aged Ballantine’s, the malt emphasis is the part worth caring about. If you are chasing cask-strength intensity or single malt complexity, 40% blended Scotch is not where you will find it.
The harder truth for this audience is access. Unless you are flying through a Korean airport or shopping the Korean domestic market, you cannot buy either of these. Treat it as a collector and design story first, a drinking one second. If you do find the 21 Year Old in Korea duty free and the price lands near the standard 21 Year Old, it is a reasonable buy for the bottle and the blend. The 17 Year Old is harder to recommend chasing, given it never leaves the domestic market.
If you want golf-meets-whisky you can actually drink at home, you are better served by the widely available core Ballantine’s range or by a single malt from one of these component distilleries.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ballantine’s x Malbon? It is a 2026 collaboration between Scotch whisky brand Ballantine’s, owned by Pernod Ricard, and lifestyle golf brand Malbon. It includes two limited edition blended Scotch whiskies, a 21 Year Old and a 17 Year Old, plus a capsule clothing collection, all themed around golf’s post-round “19th Hole.”
What is the difference between the 17 and 21 Year Old Malbon Edition? The 21 Year Old uses a higher proportion of Glentauchers single malt for a delicate, precise character and is a Korea travel retail exclusive. The 17 Year Old uses a higher proportion of Glenburgie for more weight and length and is sold only in the Korean domestic market. Both are bottled at 40% ABV.
How much does Ballantine’s x Malbon cost? Ballantine’s has not published an official price for either Malbon edition. As a guide, the standard Ballantine’s 21 Year Old usually retails around 185 USD per 70cl, so the collaboration 21 Year Old is likely to sit at or above that. The 17 Year Old price has not been disclosed.
Where can I buy Ballantine’s x Malbon whisky? The 21 Year Old is available from mid-June 2026 in Korea travel retail, including Incheon, Gimpo, and Gimhae airports, a Jeju pop-up, and the downtown JTO duty free store in Jeju. The 17 Year Old is sold only in the Korean domestic market. Neither is available in Europe, the UK, or the US.
Which distilleries are behind the blends? Both are Ballantine’s blended Scotch. The 21 Year Old foregrounds Glentauchers, a light, delicate Speyside malt. The 17 Year Old foregrounds Glenburgie, the Speyside malt most closely associated with the Ballantine’s house style, known for weight and length. Both distilleries are long-standing components of the Ballantine’s blend.
Can I buy Ballantine’s x Malbon outside Korea? No. The 21 Year Old is exclusive to Korea travel retail and the 17 Year Old is exclusive to the Korean domestic market. There is currently no announced release for Europe, the UK, or the US, so the only routes are traveling through Korea or the secondary market.
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