Caperdonich 20 Years Old 2000 Cask #29494 (Signatory)

A 20 year old Caperdonich, this distilled in 2000 from the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, from cask 29494, bottled at 53.8%, one of 219 bottles. Caperdonich, a lost Speyside distillery in Rothes, fell silent in 2002. A few warehouses still stand, but the stillhouse and kiln are long gone.

Run through the distillery's tall copper stills, for a soft, fruity, oily make. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla and a light sweetness under the fruit. In the oxidative middle years oxidation draws out waxy tropical fruit, vanillin and lactones fully expressed. Ethyl esters built over the years lend the pear and tropical fruit of old Caperdonich. Its spirit went largely into blends such as Chivas Regal and Royal Salute. It was rarely bottled as a single malt in its lifetime, so most come from independents. It is named, like the burn, from the Gaelic for the secret well. With Caperdonich demolished, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock.

Undiluted at 53.8%, it is layered. A creamy, fruity sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is waxy, the fruit carried on a creamy body. The close is long, fruit over a gentle oak. This is a single malt from a silent Speyside distillery.