Caperdonich 21 Years Old 2000 Cask #29487 (Signatory)

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage bottled this Caperdonich, a 21 year old, distilled in 2000, from cask 29487, bottled at 56.7%, one of 285 bottles. Caperdonich is a closed Speyside distillery, its stock now finite and dwindling. A pipeline known as the whisky pipe once carried its spirit across the road to Glen Grant.

The spirit was made in tall copper stills for a light, fruity spirit, giving the soft pear and mint of the house style. First fill bourbon gave it a fuller vanilla and a touch of coconut. At oxidative maturity ellagitannin tannins lend a polished frame to the oily, fruit rich malt. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the fruity, waxy core over the decades. Ethyl esters built over the years lend the pear and tropical fruit of old Caperdonich. With the distillery gone, the casks that remain are a finite record of its make. With Caperdonich demolished, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock.

At a hearty 56.7% it carries real weight. Apple, pear and a soft honey, with a soft vanilla from the oak. It is creamy and fruity, the soft spirit shining through. The close is long, fruit over a gentle oak. This is a finite single malt from the lost Caperdonich distillery.