Caperdonich 38 Years Old 1972 Cask #7440 (Duncan Taylor)

A Caperdonich of a 38 year old chosen by the Huntly bottler Duncan Taylor, distilled in 1972, from cask 7440, bottled at 53.6%, one of 181 bottles. Caperdonich was the lesser known twin of Glen Grant, on Station Street in Rothes. Chivas released a Secret Speyside range of official Caperdonich in 2019, aged eighteen to thirty years.

This was made in tall copper stills for a light, fruity spirit, giving the soft pear and mint of the house style. An American oak cask shaped it, soft and creamy beneath the fruit. Ethereal and fragile, decades draw the malt to a waxy, tropical delicacy of sotolon and old oak. Maturation in the cool north east kept the spirit fresh across long years. It was built in 1898 by J and J Grant of Glen Grant, as Glen Grant No.2, to meet the whisky boom. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit. No more will ever be made, the distillery silent since 2002.

At a hearty 53.6% it carries real weight. Pear, vanilla and a green mint lift, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is waxy, the fruit carried on a creamy body. It finishes creamy, fruity and waxy. This is a single malt from a silent Speyside distillery.