Two High Octane Banff


September 2, 2017

	Angus's Corner From our casual Scottish correspondent and guest taster Angus MacRaild
	Two High Octane Banff
	It’s not often I get a chance to try Banff, which is of course a shame as Banff can be rather exquisite when it wants to be. Lets try two high strength examples today. Water at the ready...

Banff 15 yo 1976/1992 (61.1%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, 150th Anniversary)

Colour: Light gold. Nose: Understandably tight at first. Then begins to unfold along the lines of lilies, pollen, honeysuckle and other wild flowers. A little limoncello, some beeswax and camphor. Pure elegance, despite the high strength which subsides quite swiftly. Some green fruit and various resins emerge with time. Finally some signature Banff mustard English mustard this time. With water: becomes a little carbolic with touches of mead and coal hearths. Grilling sausages and a charcoal on a barbecue. Sausages AND mustard! This Banff is a meal in itself. Palate: Wonderfully rich, oily and delicately waxy; full of white and black pepper, mustard seed and camphor. You could be drinking a fruit salad laced with paraffin. A touch of medicine - germoline perhaps - then a little wood ash. Wonderful! With water: more wax, more hessian, more little medical complexities, quite a lot of dry spiciness now and a little mineral flourish. Finish: Long and drying with mineral freshness and lots of mustard, spice and a little background waxiness. A notch farmy towards the end. Comments: Unsurprisingly excellent. These 1975-1976 Banffs seem to be consistently spectacular. I think Banff is one of those unusual distilleries where the 1970s examples were often better than their 1960s forbears. SGP: 364 - 90 points.

Banff 24 yo 1975/2000 (63.6%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #67.5) Better strap ourselves in for this one... Colour: Light amber. Nose: The extra age is readily apparent here, we’re much more on honey, pollen, mead, some soft wood resins, exotic hardwoods, sultanas and quince jelly. A slightly menthol touch as well after a while along with eucalyptus and rosewater. An aged dry Gewurztraminer (lets say ZH Rangen 1985). A little coal dust and some assorted tropical fruits follow. With water: These notes of Gewurz really start to become louder with water; rose jelly, quince paste, tinned lychee syrup, a grating of nutmeg. There is still this impression of fat, syrupy, glycerol liquid sloshing about in the glass below. Totally spectacular! Palate: Call the anti-maltoporn brigade right now! Wax, myriad fruits, mustard, olive oil, resins, balsamico, pine needles, camphor, earth, dried mushrooms. Gah! Majestic palate. I totally forgot that this is 63.5%! With water: Drier, earthier, more peppery, more towards cinnamon bark, wild flowers, green fruits and a little dark chocolate and Darjeeling tea. Finish: Long, full of jasmine, lapsang souchong, a little chilli pepper, cocoa, mustard power, wax and more resinous notes. Comments: Again this was unsurprising. But totally beautiful and deeply satisfying. What a shame these bottles are now so scarce and generally unaffordable. At least by impoverished whisky writers at any rate (this is your cue to start playing your tiny violin Serge!). SGP: 463 - 92 points.