Banff is a name hardly known to many outside Scotch aficionados, which is unsurprising given that there's almost no distillery bottlings, with only independent bottlers left to provide any access to the Highland distillery's whiskies - perhaps the closest, certainly the most accessible, would be the one and only Rare Malts Selection Banff 1982 by United Distillers, today better known as Diageo.

The distillery has of course been lost to time, having been shuttered in 1983 as one of the victims of the infamous Whisky Loch (the period of the 1980's when there was an oversupply of Scotch whisky, which led to many closures), but not before it was acquired by United Distillers. And so any taste of Banff's whiskies is undeniably a rarity given that it's not been produced for over four decades, which is also precisely why it's so sought after by Scotch lovers, because it serves as a portal into a bygone era of Scotch distilling and is a reference to one of Scotland's ghost distilleries.

Banff Bay.

With that, let's get into the history of Banff Distillery!

It's often said that as a matter of tragic irony, the distillery's history has largely been marked by numerous instances where it went "Banff".

Residing by the Moray Coast, up at the northeastern edge of the Scotlands Highlands, on Banff Bay in Inverboyndie (today closest to Macduff and Glenglassaugh distilleries), the distillery was established by one Major James McKilligan in 1824. The distillery had been established in the wake of the legalisation of distilling in Scotland (the Excise Act of 1823), which was meant to stomp out illegal moonshine making that was happening all over the Highlands. It would change hands several times before coming into the hands of the Simpson family, who would relocate it closer to the railway line, although still keeping it within Inverboyndie. 

Banff Distillery.

Now the first "banff" would fatefully happen in 1877, which saw the distillery go up in flames. Nevertheless taking it in stride, the Simpson family would have the distillery rebuilt in a matter of 6 months - to take necessary precautions, the Simpson's even had a fire engine stay on the premises. Banff was then quite the success for some time, having been bottled under the name "Old Banff", where it was even supplied to the House of Commons! The Simpson's would continue to own and operate the distillery up until 1932 before being hit with financial struggles as a result of declining demand for whisky, resulting in first a partial sale of the distillery, which eventually culminated in a full exit. Scottish Malt Distillers, the malt distilling arm of Distillers Company Limited (DCL) would purchase the distillery for use in its blends (Johnnie Walker and Slater Rodger), although opting to keep it closed until after World War II (it had instead been used as the base for the RAF Squadron No. 248). Unfortunately, in 1941, the distillery would find itself collateral damage as part of a Luftwaffe air raid (Nazi Junkers Ju 88), which would cause the distillery's warehouse to explode, with casks filled with Banff's whiskies said to have been shot through the air, landing all over rivers and fields where it poured out into. The result was rather comical nevertheless, with numerous drunken cows spotted, which could not be milked the day after.

Whilst Banff was operational, it had used a triple distillation process up until 1924 when it switched to double distillation, with its stills directly heated with coal until 1963 (first by hand and then mechanically). It would move to oil burner heating in 1970, with cooling water drawn from the Burn of Boydine. The distillery was even noted for being rather innovative during its time, having been recorded as the only Scotch distillery at the time to integrate a suction pump system that would move dried barley malt directly from the kiln to the mill, which was certainly more efficient than doing so by hand! Not too much else is known about how the distillery made its whiskies, although it is known that the distillery's signature profile is that of a whisky that was meant to be bold, aromatic, and with a smoky oiliness, with often herbal and farmhouse notes (whisky aficionados also often note a slight metallic quality) - it is often revered for displaying an old style Highland profile. 

After the war, the distillery was open again for business, but within just a few short years, it would once again be the site of an explosion in 1959, which destroyed the still house and the spirit stills that the distillery needed. Undeterred, Banff would once again be rebuilt, and as you might have guessed by now, would see yet another fire break out in 1983, which this time finally spelled the end of the Banff Distillery. As the Whisky Loch was well underway in the 1980's, the distillery had already been marked for closure and thus there were no plans this time to have it rebuilt. The distillery was thus completely demolished and has never operated since, although Diageo still owns the "Banff" name.

And so today, beyond the releases from a cast of the most highly regarded stalwarts of Scotch independent bottling, there is but one single expression that is considered to be as close to a distillery bottling as possible - the Banff 1982 Rare Malts Selection.

Which gets us to the Rare Malts Selection itself. As United Distillers (Diageo) had come to own and shutter numerous distilleries during the Whisky Loch of the 1980's, it nevertheless had on hand several straggling yet mature casks of whiskies from these distilleries that it needed to bottle soon. Whilst some of it was said to have made its way into the Johnnie Walker Blue Label (first released in 1992, just a year prior to the first releases from the Rare Malts Selection), which is said to be what made the Blue Label such an incredible whisky that made such a splash when it was first launched, the practical reality also meant that for continuity, it would have been unwise for United Distillers to rely too heavily on distilleries that weren't going to be operating into the future. Most of the distilleries that were closed then were done in the name of saving operating costs or in avoidance of the costly refurbishments required to keep them going, whilst those that lived on were either deemed more efficient in helping to keep its blended Scotch brands going, or were viewed as having potential tourism value. Regardless, Banff Distillery was once such example of a distillery that was shuttered - the numerous banff's through its history probably didn't help!

And so with these odd casks, it was thus decided that they would be bottled under the banner of the Rare Malts Selection - they were certainly going to be rare considering United Distillers' move to close them - where they would be positioned as being the special and precious last remnants of distilleries that no longer existed ("once enjoyed, forever gone" was a popular tagline), and would even be bottled by vintage, with some distilleries being featured several times across different vintages. Now of course, the Rare Malts Selection would in a somewhat ironic twist go on to become very legendary in its own right, having become incredibly sought after and highly prized as the single malt movement took off, with many of these bottlings - much like the Banff 1982 - being a last and only look into these ghost distilleries. Some of these distilleries even made such a name for themselves through the Rare Malts Selection that Diageo has since invested heavily to revive them - although of course, they can't ever be identical to what they once were. 

Whilst several distilleries saw numerous features within the annual release of the Rare Malts Selection, there was only ever one Banff that was released. By 2005, the Diageo Special Releases (debuting in 2001 and still ongoing) would entirely replace the Rare Malts Selection (no longer released).

On the back label, it reads "BANFF 1982 Just outside the old royal town of the same name, the original distillery was founded in 1824. To enjoy this soft-bodied 21-year-old cask-strength malt at its best, measure one part whisky to two parts still water at room temperature. Any slight cloudiness is normal in an unfiltered cask-strength malt. A rarely available, bright gold Highland malt, it starts clean and nutty on the nose then yields creamy, digestive-biscuit flavours that dry slightly into a sharper, medium- length finish, all oat cakes, bitter walnuts and ginger marmalade."

Let's give it a go!

Whisky Review: Banff 1982 Rare Malts Selection 21 Year Old, 57.1% ABV

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: It opens honeyed with a sliver of savouriness of sweet grilled meats drizzled on with maltose candy. There's also some darker undertones of leather, with a nutty, gristy middle ground, coming through as nougat with even some pine nuts, and a light yeastiness. More gentle and delicate still, there's more of that musty Sherry character at the back, with leather and dried prunes. The aromas are wrapped around by a waft of waxy resinous quality. Light industrial tones of petrol and well-worked machinery emerge with time, although soft and airy.

Taste: Medium-bodied, really waxy and rounded here, and also candied. There's immediately that savouriness of grilled meats, with also leather and dried plums, decked out on a canvas of honey and maltose. More on nougat with also a dried grassiness of meadows, as well as tinges of oranges and green apples and pears. It's really concentrated and denser on the palate. That yeastiness of brie rinds comes back, dipped in honey, with gristy nuttiness persisting into the finish.

Finish: Long, with all those Sherry qualities carrying through, of leather, plums, prunes, nougat, with still also that candied maltose. It's rather nutty and yeasty, with then this sudden arrival of green and yellow tropical fruits of green mangoes, jackfruit and apricots that offer up this vibrance into the finish.

My Thoughts

A really enjoyable old style Scotch that punches above its weight - well, it is bottled under the Rare Malts Selection after all, so that's not all that surprising - but certainly I found this whisky plenty rewarding and well worth digging into. Beyond the typical old style markers of being more subtle and delicate, with those classic notes of dried meadow grassiness, that gristy nuttiness, the industrial tones of machinery, with also that mustiness of old leather and sundried prunes, what really impressed me here is that it's body completely held up, delivering that more unctuous oily waxiness that gives it an incredibly satisfying texture. It's elegant and idyllic, plenty evocative, with a relaxed complexity about it - oh, and a little surprise at the end with that vibrant burst of tropical fruits too!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot