Banff 1979-2002 - 23 Year Old - Chieftains - Casks 476/499

Founded in 1824, Banff distillery relocated in 1863 to a new site which burned down in 1877. The distillery was rebuilt and operated until 1932, when the owners went bust. Banff was bought by Diageo forerunners DCL who kept the distillery closed until after WWII. Banff was hit by the Luftwaffe in 1941, destroying much maturing stock, and in 1959 the distillery was badly damaged again by an explosion in the stillhouse. Production resumed once more, but in 1983 DCL closed the distillery during the whisky lake crisis. The distillery buildings were destroyed by fire for the final time in 1991.

Banff’s very old school, astringent Highland whisky was prized by blenders but after the DCL takeover the only official bottling was a 1982 Rare Malts Edition Banff released in 2004, over twenty years after the distillery closed. However, in October 2021 an official bottling of Banff 15-year-old bottled between 1921-32 was found and auctioned by Whisky-Online, fetching £16,200. Independent Banff was easy to find in the 1990s and early Noughties, but has slowed to trickle and the last casks will soon be exhausted.

Founded in 1933, Ian Macleod Distillers are rather low profile despite being the 10th-largest Scotch whisky company in the world.  The company is one of the largest suppliers of own-brand whiskies to bulk markets, with a diverse range of proprietary and independent bottling brands including Smokehead, Chieftain’s Choice and Isle of Skye.  The company also produces a variety of gins, vodkas and rums including Edinburgh Gin.

Ian Macleod acquired the Glengoyne distillery and the Langs whisky brands in 2003, changing the company name to Ian Macleod Distillers. Tamdhu distillery was purchased in 2011 and relaunched in 2013, while in October 2017 it was announced that Ian Macleod Distillers had acquired and were rebuilding the lost Lowland distillery Rosebank - a stunning coup that gladdened the hearts of whisky fans the world over. After an extensive refurbishment, production at Rosebank recommenced in summer 2023.