Whisky: Banff 22 Year (1978), Cooper's Choice

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 43%

Cask: Oak

Age: 22 (Distilled 1978, Bottled 2001)

Nose: Musty garage, pecan shells, rusted metal, engine oil, lanolin, hessian, industry and dirty, more herbs with time, camphor, eucalyptus, mustard leaf, hints of popsicles, clay pots.

Palate: Medium-bodied, musty garage, earth, industrial, mulch, lanolin, hessian, camphor, more stone fruits and earthy animal pasture.

Finish: Long and slightly drying with stoney earth and dried medicinal herbs.

Score: 7-8 (85)

Mental Image: Storage Unit Treasure Hunting

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was like stepping into a musty old garage— leaky engine oil, cardboard boxes, unshucked pecans, and rusted cans of paint. Lanolin and hessian provided a textile-adjacent vibe that led to an urban garden— still industrial and dirty, musty even, but now green with camphor, eucalyptus, garden soil, clay pots, and mustard leaf. Medium-bodied, the flavor profile was much the same, though centered more in a littered urban park with musty mulch, discarded tires, oil-slicked pavement, and weathered wooden benches. More lanolin and camphor lingered in the background with apricots, subtle stone fruits, and earthy pasture.  The finish was long and slightly drying with stoney earth and dried medicinal herbs.

I have had very few Banff— a lost Speyside distillery that closed in 1983 and burnt down for the fourth, and final, time in 1991. This was only the second, so I do not have a good grip on how this matched with the overarching style or reputation of the distillery.  It certainly fit right in with my impression of 1970s malts from grungier Longmorn and Linkwood, to similar closed distilleries like Dallas Dhu.  The flavors were very musty and dirty, right in line with the sheds and garages I explored as a child— so the whisky was tinged with some lovely nostalgia.

Overall, a dirty and nostalgic affair with very subtle fruits behind garage and park notes.

Image Credit: Whiskybase