In 1998 and 2000, Douglas Laing released several casks of Banff. They were all distilled in February or November 1966 and bottled in the Old Malt Cask series. I’ve recently bought a whole series of Banff samples and this one immediately got my attention because of its gorgeous smell.

Banff 34 yo 1966 (45,8%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 2000, 408 btl.)

Nose: obviously from a (great) sherry cask. It shows lovely shoe polish and precious wood, apples, prunes, rhubarb, apple pie… A bit of old roses and leather. Even faint smoke and gentle tarmac. Cigar box. Quite superb, it could have been one of the great Macallan 18yo’s or an old Strathisla. You may argue that it shows little distillery character but is that relevant when it’s top class? Mouth: much more woody now and a little straightforward. Not really drying, but rather sharp. Pine resin, varnish, a little grapefruit. Over-infused tea. Hints of mustard even. Slightly past its due date perhaps? Finish: still oaky. Getting drier now. Hints of balsamic vinegar.

A bit of a descrescendo: an excellent nose but excessive oak on the palate. Therefore hard to rate. It fetches around € 200 in auctions.

Score: 86/100