Caperdonich 17 Years Old 1995 Cask #95043 (Signatory)

From the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, a 17 year old Caperdonich, distilled in 1995, from cask 95043, bottled at 46%, one of 372 bottles. Caperdonich was built in 1898 as Glen Grant No.2, the sister distillery across the road from Glen Grant. It is named, like the burn, from the Gaelic for the secret well.

The spirit was made in tall copper stills for a light, fruity spirit, giving the soft pear and mint of the house style. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the fruit. Into oxidative maturity, slow air ingress builds fruity ethyl esters (pear and pineapple) and a waxiness. Long ageing turns the fresh pear towards mango, beeswax and a polished oak. A few warehouses still stand, but the stillhouse and kiln are long gone. Water came from the Caperdonich Burn, the so called secret well above Rothes. It was rarely bottled as a single malt in its lifetime, so most come from independents. No more will ever be made, the distillery silent since 2002.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded. Pear, vanilla and a green mint lift, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked pear and a soft spice lift it. The finish runs waxy, fruity and soft. This is a finite single malt from the lost Caperdonich distillery.