Caperdonich 17 Years Old Dumpy Bottle (Cadenhead’s)

This Caperdonich was bottled by Scotland's oldest independent bottler Cadenhead's, a 17 year old, bottled at 45.7%. Caperdonich distilled a creamy, fruity Speyside malt at Rothes before closing in 2002. It reopened in 1965 to feed Glen Grant's booming Italian trade, and took the Caperdonich name in 1977.

It was distilled from unpeated malt in tall Glen Grant style stills, giving the soft pear and mint of the house style. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the spirit. At oxidative maturity aldehydes and esters lend tropical fruit while ellagitannins add a drying, structured grip. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits both bourbon and sherry. After closure the site was sold to the coppersmith Forsyths, who demolished it in 2011. Its character was close to Glen Grant but its own, less green apple, more cream, pear and mint. No more will ever be made, the distillery silent since 2002.

Bottled at 45.7%, it is rounded. Pear, vanilla and a green mint lift, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The texture is oily and waxy, the fruit lifted by vanilla. A long, fruity finish carries a tropical lift. This is the soft, fruity ghost of Glen Grant's sister.