Banff 1976/2023 G&M PC #2887

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 50.4% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This Banff is part of the second release of the Recollection Series, in which Gordon & MacPhail highlights whiskies from closed or long-silent distilleries. Within the Private Collection, this bottling preserves a Highland Single Malt from 1976: the whisky was filled into Refill Sherry Butt number 2887 on 26 October that year. Refill refers to a cask previously used to mature whisky. After 46 years of maturation, the whisky was bottled on 3 February 2023, yielding 109 bottles.

Long maturation in a sherry cask meets a fruity, spicy character with nutty accents and mature oak. This non-smoky Single Malt has an alcohol content of 50.4% and is neither chill-filtered nor coloured. The 0.7-litre bottle comes in a premium box.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose combines festive spices with orange and cloves, alongside the sweetness of Demerara sugar. A subtle toffee note gives way to impressions of prunes and baked apple.
• Palate: On the palate, rich notes of cooked red fruits mingle with cinnamon and ginger, with black pepper adding a subtle accent. Toasted hazelnuts come to the fore, accompanied by marzipan and mature oak.
• Finish: The finish is medium-bodied, with lingering citrus and nutty notes.

Distillery/Bottler:

Banff's history began in 1824 on Banff Bay in Inverboyndie. In 1863, James Simpson Jr. built a new distillery at the same location, which offered better railway connections and access to the springs at Fiskaidly Farm. Fires and a bombing raid during the Second World War marked its subsequent history. Banff closed in 1983; surviving whisky stocks still make rare bottlings from this Highland distillery possible today.

Gordon & MacPhail began in 1895 as a grocery, wine and spirits shop in Elgin, founded by James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail. John Urquhart developed whisky selection, purchasing and maturation into a central part of the business. Together with his son George, he established relationships with distilleries and built up stocks of casks in which whisky could mature for several decades.

As an independent bottler, Gordon & MacPhail combines spirit selection with carefully chosen casks. The company has worked with new-make spirit from more than 100 Scottish distilleries. Its sherry casks are made to its own specifications in Jerez and seasoned with sherry before being transported to Scotland. For former bourbon casks, it works with the Speyside Cooperage. This general approach focuses on matching wood, spirit and maturation time.

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