Whisky: Banff 17 Year (1976), Cadenhead's Authentic Collection

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 60.5%

Cask: Oak

Age: 17 Years (Distilled Aug. 1976, Bottled June 1994)

Nose: Tart tropical citrus, mild cream, spirited prickle and pepper, bergamot, shiso leaf, surfboard wax, wood oil, more subtle cantaloupe, moss, and salt.

Palate: Medium-bodied, tropical fruit, citrus, moss, limestone, spirited heat, pepper, citrus, tidal ponds, musty herbs and tea.

Finish: Medium-length and warming with citrus, earth, and musty herbs.

Score: 8

Mental Image: Surf Rock Road Trip

Narrative & Notes: Imagine a surfing trip to a secluded beach— the aroma took me on a hike through the forest with chopped fruit consumed along the way. Lilikoi, tangerine, lime, and bitter orange paired with subtle cream and cantaloupe as dank vegetation, mostly moss, lingered in the background. The aroma was spirited, the high abv. prickled the nose with a bright pepper and wood oil. Salt heralded the beach and the crashing of the surf as surfboard wax came out with hints of coconut, bergamot, and peppery citrus of shiso leaf. Medium-bodied on the palate, tropical citrus arrived first with lilikoi, bitter orange, bergamot, and hints of guava. As it developed, the palate continued the surf trip with a bit of beach exploration— driftwood, moss and lichen, limestone, and tidal ponds, which all pointed toward a musty sea cave. Spirited and peppery, the abv prickled the palate with musty herbs, sometimes slightly sour, lingering near the end with smoked tea leaves and camphor. The finish was medium-length and warming with citrus, earth, and musty herbs.

Wow, what an introduction to Banff! The flavors here recalled some of my favorite aspects of Arran but with a much funkier herbal-mossy element. I loved the combination, and if this were a little less spirited and spicy, it would have been fantastic. Adding a few drops of water or giving the whisky time to rest did help dull some of that spice, but at the cost of that musty complexity as more citrus came to the fore. Sometimes a whisky drinks remarkably easily for the abv. Sometimes, it comes off as surprisingly spicy— this one felt a touch unrefined with the sort of heat one expects to encounter when crossing the 60% threshold. Perhaps that speaks to the great storage of this bottle, as I would otherwise have anticipated some of the alcohol to have dissipated in the intervening decades.

As the Malt Whisky Yearbook notes, the Banff Distillery had an unfortunate history with fires, and it burned down for a final time in 1991 after closing during the Whisky Loch in 1983. Michael Jackson described the distillery style as “Fragrant. Lemon grass. Sweet.” I think that matches up pretty well with my description above. While I did not note lemon grass, I could easily see some of those citrusy notes approaching the grassy-licorice quality.

Overall, a fun introduction to the distillery! As with any of these long-gone distilleries, I assume this will be my last taste, so I am glad it was a good one.

Image Credit: Whiskybase