Caperdonich 1972 W-F (Whisky-F��ssle (W-F))

This Caperdonich was bottled by the bottler Whisky-F��ssle (W-F), a 39 year old, distilled in 1972, bottled at 45%. Caperdonich was a Speyside malt distillery, its spirit long destined for blends. A few warehouses still stand, but the stillhouse and kiln are long gone.

This was distilled from unpeated malt in tall Glen Grant style stills, to build a clean, waxy, fruity character. A sherry cask gave dried fruit and a dark, nutty sweetness. In its ethereal years the malt is waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a touch of sotolon (maple, spice). The cool Speyside air gave a slow, even maturation in the Rothes warehouses. It is named, like the burn, from the Gaelic for the secret well. It was rarely bottled as a single malt in its lifetime, so most come from independents. Water came from the Caperdonich Burn, the so called secret well above Rothes. It reopened in 1965 to feed Glen Grant's booming Italian trade, and took the Caperdonich name in 1977. With Caperdonich demolished, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock.

Bottled at 45%, it is rounded. Pear, vanilla and a green mint lift, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath it run pear, cream and a soft mint. The finish runs waxy, fruity and soft. This is Caperdonich's creamy, fruity Speyside style.