That Caperdonich and compadres


August 24, 2017

That Caperdonich and compadres

You know mashed potatoes with truffles. Some people eat the truffles first, while others would finish the mash before they tackle the truffles. That’s what we may have decided to do with Cadenhead’s latest old Caperdonich – although, I agree, what’s best is to have the truffles and the mashed potatoes together, so that the flavours mingle together even better. I know, I do need vacations.

Caperdonich 20 yo 1996 (47.8%, Cadenhead, cask ends, hogshead, +/-2016)

This baby was recasked to sherry hogshead because the bourbon hoggie was leaking. Colour: gold. Nose: fun. Fun happens at Cadenhead’s. Let’s call this ‘other woods’, and that would include beech, acacia, or chestnut, or cedar, but certainly not oak. Bizarre notes of Schweppes lemon, Campari, plasticine, honey vinegar, and wee ‘muddy’ mushrooms. Clitocybes, perhaps? Love those, especially the purple ones. Ah, a fricassee of purple clitocybes with a little parsley and garlic! Mouth: much more ‘normal’. Lemon liqueur, lemon balm, aspirin tablets, white pepper, a little ginger, and touches of bitter oranges. Waxy ones. Finish: long, citrusy, orange-y, and certainly quite waxy, ala Clynelish. Comments: intriguing and great – two words that don’t always go well together in the whisky world. SGP:661 – 88 points.

Caperdonich 20 yo 1996/2017 (46.4%, Cadenhead, bourbon hogshead, 264 bottles)

Quite possibly a sister cask. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: ultra-clean, very mineral, almost saline, all on chalk, clay, and waxy apples, then hay and rotting apples. Gotta love rotting apples. Beer. Mouth: more cask influence, with touches of coconut wine, then liquorice, then grapefruits and angelica. The angelica’s very obvious. Finish: long, with more coconut, angelica, and liquorice. Cedar wood, perhaps. It’s not a very common profile, and I’m not sure you could recognise the distillery, but this is just superb. Only the aftertaste is a little below par, becoming a little cardboardy/oaky. Don’t you need to be cruel to be kind? Comments: love these razor-sharp profiles, but they’re fragile, as as soon as a little oak comes through, they go down like Messerschmitts. Not the case here. SGP:561 - 88 points.

Caperdonich 20 yo 1994/2015 (53.5%, Single Cask Collection, sherry hogshead, cask #96540, 254 bottles)

Not many older whisky enthusiasts realise that Caperdonich is a closed distillery. Closed for good in 2002! Colour: white wine. Nose: pretty similar, but even more austere, grassy, on peelings and leaves, then chalk and clay. Fresh almonds too. A rather Janssenist malt so far. With water: crushed clay and grass. Mouth (neat): these sharp and acidic fruit again, green apples, lemons, grapefruits… Zing! With water: a few fruits coming out. Perhaps blackberries and blueberries? Watch your teeth! Finish: a tad sweeter, almost a little sugary. But that would be barley sugar. Comments: millimetric malt whisky. SGP:561 - 86 points.

Caperdonich 23 yo 1992/2015 (56.4%, Cadenhead, barrel, 150 bottles)

There’s something between Cadenhead and Caperdonich, did you notice that too? Maybe because both start with ‘Ca’ (S., that was lame and unnecessary, once again!) Colour: straw. Nose: Sancerre! Sauvignon Blanc! Celery, lemon, anise, rhubarb, chalk… With water: we’re at school, way before the iPad. Chalk, ink, damp rag, school slate… Mouth (neat): god it’s good. Sharp lemony/mineral arrival, then a few easier fruits, white currants, greengages, gooseberries… I’m a total sucker for this sharp style that only a good refill cask could generate over the years. Cut cactus, grass… With water: and fruits. Watermelon, star fruit, lime… Finish: not that long, but grassy, mineral, and fruity, as expected. Perhaps a tad ‘below’. Comments: it lost one or two points at the finish, but what a great Caperdonich! SGP:661 - 89 points.

All right, since we went vertical, this the one we were waiting for…

Caperdonich 39 yo 1977/2017 (50.4%, Cadenhead, 175th Anniversary, butt, 462 bottles)

Now remember, 1977 wasn’t 1972, just saying (what a nice contribution, S.!) Colour: dark amber. Nose: chocolate and wood varnish, Pappy-style, then garden peat and gravel, then prunes, armagnac-style. I’m totally not disappointed, but I was expecting some kind of bomb, while this is rather elegant and, well, sober. With water: Pappy’s back! Which, frankly, wasn’t to be expected. Now there are more prunes and black earth than in any Pappies. Don’t care for Pappy anyway. Mouth (neat): haven’t I just mentioned prunes? I’ll add liquorice and blackcurrants, Corinthian raisins, a wee drop of Kikkoman sauce, and a lot of ganache. It is ‘relatively simple’, but it’s a perfect simplicity. With water: takes water extremely well, and now we’re talking. Chinese plum sauce, cassis nectar, gianduja, perhaps a wee touch of Nutella (I known, utter horror, but in this context it’s OK)… Finish: medium, all on various chocolates, with some tobacco in the aftertaste. And a bourbonness. Comments: more a ride than malt whisky, but what a ride! Frankly, water is superfluous. SGP:561 - 91 points.

Good, since this has become a verticale, and since we’ve mentioned 1972, and since that CAD was a 39……

Caperdonich 39 yo 1972/2011 (52.8%, The Whisky Agency, Private Stock, sherry hogshead, 57 bottles)

I know, a very small outturn and an old bottle, this is for glory only. Colour: deep gold. Nose: s***w everyone, this is bottled perfection. Please get ready to call the anti-maltoporn brigade. A beehive in the middle of a clearing, at around 4pm in the midst of august, in the northern hemisphere. Let’s move on… and no, no water. I know I should, but I won’t. Mouth: this will make you sing Ob-la-di-ob-la-da. Don’t get me wrong, it’s no easy whisky, as for example, this 1972 is less ‘easy’ than a Glen Grant from the same vintage. Not quoting Glen Grant by chance. But these resinous, sappy, almost austere and quite glue-y flavours are just stunning. Concentrated fir honeydew and lemony liquorice. Finish: almost eternal. Really concentrated, essence-y, sappy. Comments: magic. In fact, this wee whisky is tasting you, it’s not the other way ‘around. Psychedelic Caperdonich? To sip while listening to Jefferson Airplane. Or Ornette, naturally. SGP:472 - 93 points.

A seminal question now, were all the 1972s the same? (what a flimsy excuse, S.!)

Caperdonich 38 yo 1972/2011 (46%, Mo Or Collection, bourbon hogshead, cask #7437, 162 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: totally 1972 and integrally Caperdonich. Nectar, pollen, beeswax, chamomile, orange blossom, lime-flower tea, honey, old Sauternes-that-got-dry, artisanal white chocolate (not Nestlé junk), wee bananas flambéed… Oh the elegance, oh the balance! I’m afraid this style has been lost, hopefully not forever. Mouth: f****g amazing. There’s this very rare point where herbs and fruits meet and don’t fight, some kind of equilibrium that’s extremely rare, really. These very rare whiskies would make all current whiskies (bar a tiny few) resemble oak-aged vodka. More about oak-aged vodka soon on WF, if I’m man enough to do it (or if you mail me cheques, I take Euros, Swiss francs and US dollars, please no Sterling). So, a wonderful whisky, totally aged by time. Which was the whole point in the first place, but the industry seems to have changed their mind in that respect. Remember, today wood=time (but of course). Now back to this wee Caperdonich, I’m also finding chlorophyll and spearmint. Finish: it does the peacock’s tail. Fruits, flower jams, herbs. Mint liquorice in the stronger and firmer aftertaste. Comments: remember The Kinks (and David Bowie)? Where have all the good times gone? Nah, remember, the good old times are always today, said that Greek philosopher. SGP:561 - 93 points.

(Thanks a bunch, Gunther and Tom!)

Check the index of all Caperdonich I've tasted so far