Caperdonich 30 Years Old 1982 Cask #DL 8778 (Directors’ Cut)

A Caperdonich drawn by the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, distilled in 1982, from cask DL 8778, bottled at 50.9%, one of 209 bottles. Caperdonich was built in 1898 as Glen Grant No.2, the sister distillery across the road from Glen Grant. Seagram bought it in 1977, and Pernod Ricard closed it in 2002.

Distilled from unpeated malt in tall Glen Grant style stills, for a delicate Speyside spirit with a creamy lift. An American oak cask shaped it, soft and creamy beneath the fruit. At this great, fragile age oxidation rules, ethereal esters, beeswax and old polished tannins to the close. With the distillery gone, the casks that remain are a finite record of its make. Slow oxidation over decades draws the creamy spirit towards a waxy, fruity richness. It was extended to four stills in 1967, run by only a couple of workers. Water came from the Caperdonich Burn, the so called secret well above Rothes. Closed in 2002 and later demolished, its profile is fixed for good.

At a hearty 50.9% it carries real weight. Mango, pear and a soft vanilla, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked pear and a soft spice lift it. A long, creamy finish ends on pear and vanilla. This is a creamy, tropical Speyside single malt of real age.