Caperdonich 23 Years Old 1994 Cask #88858 (Sansibar)

The bottler Sansibar selected this Caperdonich, a 23 year old, distilled in 1994, from cask 88858, bottled at 50.7%, one of 197 bottles. Caperdonich was a Speyside malt distillery, its spirit long destined for blends. Chivas released a Secret Speyside range of official Caperdonich in 2019, aged eighteen to thirty years.

Worked through the distillery's four tall stills, to build a clean, waxy, fruity character. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the distillery character to the fore. Through the evaporative decades the oils concentrate, lactones and esters folding into mango and beeswax. The light, creamy spirit takes cask flavour readily while keeping its pear and mint. The light Speyside make gains most of its depth from decades in good oak. It reopened in 1965 to feed Glen Grant's booming Italian trade, and took the Caperdonich name in 1977. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the fruity, waxy core over the decades. The distillery is gone, demolished in 2011, so what sleeps in cask is all there is.

At a natural 50.7% it is full and oily. 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 the soft, fruity ghost of Glen Grant's sister.