Banff (closed 1983) | Whisky Den

Bought: Online Whisky Auction, 16^th December 2015

Ratings:
80/100 – Whiskybase (average from 2 member votes)

It’s only a few weeks since I blogged about my first Banff whisky in my collection and here comes another one, albeit a 5cl miniature. My previous bottling was by Gordon & MacPhail but this younger example is by the independent bottler Signatory.

Released in 1997, 2460 miniatures were issued (mine is number 1351), with only 240 full-size 70cl bottles from the same cask.

80/100 on Whiskybase is a so-so score with one member, MaltMartin, kindly leaving these thoughts:

Nose: Starts with a lot of plastic. Like stepping into a new brand car. Chalky as well. Clay. Later on more grassy notes. Pear and melon at the background.

Taste: Much more fruity sweetness now. Also nail polish and aceton. A bit perfumy (like in these old Aberlour 9yo cube bottles of the past). Mustardy. Schweppes tonic.

Finish: Quite short. Slightly metallic. Pepper and nutmeg. Developing into more salty notes.

Comments: One of those quirky Banff’s… Totally out of balance, but fun to taste.

Banff 1978 18yo 5cl

Bought: Whisky Mouse, 4^th November 2015

Ratings:
76/100 – Whisky Bible 2006
86.9/100 – Whiskybase (average from 12 member votes)

Poor Banff distillery, if it wasn’t catching fire it was being blown up or bombed. The distillery had quite an eventful life from its beginnings in 1863 before finally closing in 1983. It has subsequently been demolished but single malt examples can still be procured from auctions and certain whisky shops. It makes a good investment as well as a tasty tipple.

My example, distilled in 1976, was bottled by the independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail in 2005 so it was a new addition to Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2006. Sadly the author only has 4 words to say about it, which are “soft with chalky oak”. His score of 76/100 classifies this Banff as “average and usually pleasant but sometimes flawed”. Contrast this with nearly 87/100 on Whiskybase from 12 member votes, which is a fantastic score. Perhaps Mr Murray had a bad sample because the majority of tasters appear to love this dram.

Below is the end of a You Tube video by John “Whiskyman” Loftus, who is said to have the largest private whisky collection in the southern hemisphere. Here he discusses Banff and tastes a typical example from the distillery: