Caperdonich 27 Years Old 1976 Cask #8965 (The Bottlers)

A 27 year old Caperdonich, this distilled in 1976 from the bottler The Bottlers, from cask 8965, bottled at 54.3%. Caperdonich made a light, fruity Speyside malt at Rothes until its closure in 2002. Its four stills were dispersed, a pair going as far as Belgium and others to Falkirk.

This was run through the distillery's tall copper stills, for a delicate Speyside spirit with a creamy lift. A sherry cask gave dried fruit and a dark, nutty sweetness. In these late years the spirit concentrates to a waxy, tropical depth held in an ellagitannin frame. 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. The light Speyside make gains most of its depth from decades in good oak. After closure the site was sold to the coppersmith Forsyths, who demolished it in 2011. Closed in 2002 and later demolished, its profile is fixed for good.

Bottled at a cask strength 54.3%, it is rich. Mango, pear and a soft vanilla, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked pear and a soft spice lift it. The finish is deep, waxy and tropical. This is Caperdonich, the lost twin of Glen Grant.