Caperdonich 30 Years Old Cask #Batch CA/003

Caperdonich from the distillery's own stock, a 30 year old, cask Batch CA/003, at 48.1%. Caperdonich was the quiet sister of Glen Grant, a Rothes distillery now demolished. After closure the site was sold to the coppersmith Forsyths, who demolished it in 2011.

Distilled from unpeated malt in tall Glen Grant style stills, giving the soft pear and mint of the house style. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the gentle American oak letting the spirit lead. Ethereal and fragile, decades draw the malt to a waxy, tropical delicacy of sotolon and old oak. The light Speyside make gains most of its depth from decades in good oak. Caperdonich leaned to cream, pear and mint where Glen Grant showed green apple. Chivas released a Secret Speyside range of official Caperdonich in 2019, aged eighteen to thirty years. 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 hearty 48.1% it carries real weight. Apple, pear and a soft honey, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A tropical fruit and a gentle oak give it depth. Pear, cream and a soft oak see out the finish. This is a finite single malt from the lost Caperdonich distillery.