Caperdonich whisky

A few years ago, Canadian malt maniac Lawrence Graham added some more details;

About Caperdonich and the Scotch whisky industry in the early 1900's: "After the closure of the distillery in 1902 much of the equipment was transferred to Glen Grant as spares. I have read that the stills at Caperdonich were the same as those at Glen Grant, as was the water source and the supplier of malt yet Caperdonich never attained the quality of Glen Grant. The collapse of the firm of Pattisons of Leith contributed to a general slow down in the industry and during this period the number of operating distilleries in Scotland fell from a high of 191 to a low of 132 in 1908."
 
About the years after Caperdonich was re-opened: "In 1965, after a very lengthy silent period of nearly 65 years, Caperdonich was rebuilt by the Glenlivet & Glen Grant Distillers Ltd and was soon producing whisky once again and in its first year produced 350,000 gallons of spirit. This reopening coincided with a general expansion of capacity in the industry. Soon after, in 1967, the distillery was expanded by the installation of two new steam heated pot stills, a modern tun room and the latest technology which allowed the distillery to be operated by a staff of only two. About a third of the malt required by produced at Glen Grant and the remainder was brought in thus no barley or peat was on site. In 1977 the distillery was taken over by Seagram's of Canada Limited."
 
About the reputation of the Caperdonich malt whisky: "Through my research into the history of Caperdonich I read again and again of unflattering descriptions of the whisky but I firmly believe that any Scottish distillery is or was capable of producing whiskies that would score over 90 points. In the case of Caperdonich this is evidenced by 3 casks as reviewed by Jim Murray in his 2006 Whisky Bible; Members Legacy 1967 Aged 36 years cask no. 4945 95 points, Members Legacy 1967 Aged 36 years cask no. 4947 96 points and Douglas Laing Platinum Old and Rare Caperdonich Aged 36 years 96 points. To quote the author in regard to the Platinum Old and Rare Caperdonich…… "Awesome."

Caperdonich distillery started its life in 1898 under the
(relatively uninspiring) name 'Glen Grant #2'. Caperdonich
distillery was founded by J. & J. Grant, the people that also
built the 'original' Glen Grant distillery in 1840. This brand
new whisky distillery (which was built at the height of the
whisky boom of the late 19th century) was conveniently
located just accross the street from Glen Grant in Rothes.
Other neigbours include Glenrothes and Glen Spey.
 
Both 'sister' distilleries are located at the northern end of
Moraytown Village in Rothes, but only one of them operated
continuously until the present day. Caperdonich closed its
doors again in 1902, a mere four years after the distillery
was opened. This 'false start' in the Scotch whisky world
was caused by the after-effects of the Pattison Crisis that
caused panic in Scotland around the turn of the century.
In a way, it was comparable with the recent credit crisis.

Glen Grant No. 2 remained inactive for six decades, but in the year 1965 it was rebuilt by
Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd. who resumed production and changed the name to Caperdonich.
In 1967 the number of stills was expanded from two to four. The change of the name of the
distillery to Caperdonich ("Secret Well") wasn't entirely voluntary. A new law prohibited the
use of the same name for different whisky distilleries that were operational at the same
time, so the owners had to find an alternative for 'Glen Grant #2'. 

The water source for both distilleries is Caperdonich Burn.
Seagram acquired Caperdonich in 1977 and sold it to
Pernod Ricard in 2001. Pernod Ricard closed the distillery
one year later in 2002, together with three of its 'sister'
distilleries; Alt A' Bhainne, Braeval (Braes of Glenlivet)
and Benriach. At the end of the decennium Caperdonich
was the only distillery from this group that hadn't been
reopened yet. The longer a whisky distillery remains
inactive, the higher the costs of making it operational
again. This sad fact makes it ever more unlikely that the
Caperdonich distillery will ever be reopened again.

Another reason that the resurrection of Caperdonich is unlikely, is the reputation of
the whisky that is distilled there. As the original name 'Glen Grant Number Two' and
the famous 'whisky pipe' between Capedonich and Glen Grant suggest, Caperdonich
was intended more like a production expansion for Glen Grant, and not so much as a
brand new malt whisky distillery. So, it's hardly surprising that Seagram's used the
spirit that was produced at Caperdonich mainly for blended whiskies like Passport,
Chivas Regal, Something Special and Queen Anne. As a result, there are no official
bottlings of Capedonich (at least not that I know of) and the handful of independent
releases by bottlers like Douglas Laing and Gordon & MacPhail are very hard to find.
That's the story of the Caperdonich distillery in a nutshell - but wait, there's more...

1) Caperdonich was a key component in some Chivas Regal blends - just like the Strathisla malt whisky.

2) Caperdonich produced 350,000 gallons of spirit in its first year after reopening.

3) When the Caperdonich distillery was renovated in 1967, two additional steam heated pot stills were added to the original two. Advancements in technology and a modern, state-of-the-art tun room enabled the entire distillery to be run by just one or two people.

4) The famous 'whisky pipe' which was placed above the street to carry spirit between Caperdonich and Glen Grant was responsible for an odd variety of the so-called 'angels share'. Locals took advantage of the easy access to this famous pipe, drilled holes in it and took spirit for their own. According to Lawrence Graham the legendary pipe was installed on the insistence of the British Customs & Excise.
 

Caperdonich 36yo 1972/2009 (54.4%, Whisky Doris, Bourbon Hogshead #7425, 175 Bts.)
Nose: Polished. Fruity start before it takes a farmier direction. Prickle in the back of the nose. Maggi?
Rum filled dark chocolates. Then more fruits and some subtle organics emerge. Evolving complexity.
Taste: Fruity start; quite solid but rather undefined. Smooth, fairly strong centre, growing grittier later on.
The fruits hang around in the centre and finish as well, slowly evolving into tannins. Dry, plywood finish.
Score: 83 points - the nose deserves a score in the upper 80's in my book, but the palate doesn't.

Caperdonich 1972/2008 (49.9%, G&M for La Maison du Whisky, first fill sherry butt, C#1976)
Nose: Polished, fruity and woody. Sweet & sour notes. A classic profile with some rough edges.
Hard to score - I love this sort of profile, but the wood is too dominant. Water makes it cloudy. Some tar?
Roasted nuts. Coffee? It really pays off if you allow this one to breathe for half an hour or longer.
Taste: Woody start, gradually giving more room for old fruits in the centre. very powerful tannins.
Cough syrup. Mouth coating. A decent amount of smoke. The wood returns with full force in the finish.
The wood grows a little overpowering in the end. The lightest touch of peat after adding a few drops of water.
Score: 85 points - I love the liquorice and smoke on the palate. A little too much wood though.

Caperdonich 38yo 1968/2007 (54.2%, Duncan Taylor for The Nectar, cask #2609, 130 bottles)
Nose: Nondescript. Glue. Then tropical fruits (pineapple, passion fruit) which for me usually indicates old age.
Taste: Faintly swee, exploding into complexity - although I still found a hint of perfume in the finish.
Score: 88 points - one of a few dozen 'high flyers' in the 2007 edition of the Malt Maniacs Awards.

Caperdonich 34yo 1972/2007 (53.4%, Duncan Taylor for LMDW, From Huntly to Paris, cask #6707, 210 bottles)
Nose: Strange. Alcoholic. Hardly any character. I'd love to write more, but I'm afraid that I really can't...
Taste: Weird, uneven start. Sweet, coffee centre. Bitter finish - perhaps a hint of smoke? Liquorice over time.
Can't make heads or tails of this one. It grew on me over time, though - earns most points on the palate.
Score: 78 points - a nice enough drinking whisky that I wouldn't actively recommend.

Caperdonich 36yo 1967/2004 (57,9%, Douglas Laing Platinum, 167 Bottles)
The proof seems unusually high for a bottle this old - or for a Douglas Laing 'Platinum' for that matter.
Nose: Very rich and sherried at first, settling down after a few seconds. Very nice but not terribly complex.
Adding water didn't seem to work very well, but after a minute the original profile returned - but nothing more.
Taste: Fruity start, followed by a fairly mellow centre. Berries. Growing tannins (grape skins) in the finish.
Just like the nose, it doesn't seem terribly complex - and maybe just a tad too bitter in the end for me.
Score: 86 points - I had it in the very upper 80's for a while, but after a while it starts to fall apart.
After approximately five minutes the harsh woody notes had taken over the palate completely.

Caperdonich 30yo 1972/2003 (50.1%, Hart Brothers Finest Collection, 11/72, 05/03)
Nose: Quite unique with wassabi and vinegar. Next, organics join the party - and more wassabi.
Then soy sauce - Kikkoman? Later on I got lemon as well, before it sweetens out. Nice! With a palate to match the nose it might have made the 90's, but to me it didn't entirely live up to my expectations.
Taste: It started off quite dry, grew sweeter in the centre and then turned a little bit dry again in the finish.
Score: 88 points - and Davin liked it even better and put it at 90 points exactly. A very fine dram indeed.

Caperdonich 24yo 1977/2002 (57.3%, Cadenhead's Authentic, 666 Bottles)
Nose: Very sherried. Rich and round. Lots of character with spicy episodes.
Taste: fruity and chewy; big with a hint of smoke.
Score: 86 points - proves my suspicions that this stands age just as well as Glen Grant.

Caperdonich 1980/1998 (40%, G&M Connoisseur's Choice, 70cl)
Nose: Light, fruity & smooth. Early fruits (Apple?) evolving into older fruits. Faint hint of peat and smoke.
Taste: Quite rough on the tongue at first. Wood. The finish develops into a long sweety/salty burn.
Score: 75 points - the style of the bottler is more apparent than the style of the distillery.

Caperdonich 16yo 1972/1988 (40%, Signatory Vintage, C#7130-7132)
Nose: Wow!!! Lots of organics, beautifully combined with sherry. Then fruits. Unoffensive perfume.
Taste: Hmmmm... Not bad, but a little watery. Smoke, growing stronger. Something perfumy too.
Score: 88 points - proof that obscure distilleries can deliver.

Caperdonich 1968 (40%, G&M Connoisseurs Choice, Old Brown Label, Bottled +/- 1983)
Nose: Maybe peanut. Growing complexity, but it doesn't really pick a specific direction. Marzipan.
Mocca. Mushroomy. Very pleasant in the nose, but last time I tried it the palate didn't back it up.
Palate: Old and tired on the palate. Sweet, but nothing else. Feels rather weak at 40%.
Score: 78 points - earned almost exclusively by the nose.
 

These were not all the (official and independent) expressions of Caperdonich whisky I've tried over the years.
My Track Record used to contain a complete overview of all the single malts I've tried, but when I passed the 2000 malts mark (and the complete whisky list wouldn't fit on two separate HTML pages anymore) I gave up. My Liquid Log still contains my tasting notes on most single malts I've sampled and scored, though. You can find a specific expression through the search box at the top of each distillery profile. The mAlmanac now contains (purely personal) selections of some of the best single malts and the worst whiskies I've tried so far - as well as the ones with the highest 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' value. But those tasting notes and scores only reflect my own, purely personal opinions.

On Serge's distillery profile on Whiskyfun you can find another perspective on the whisky made at this distillery.
Check out the Malt Maniacs Monitor on Malt Maniacs for my scores on all expressions I've tried so far - and those of almost all the other certified malt maniacs as well. The Malt Maniacs Matrix contains a few thousand single malts that were sampled and scored by at least four different malt maniacs, so you can compare our individual opinions.
 

2001 - Seagram's (who acquired Caperdonich in 1977) sold the distillery to Pernod Ricard.
 
2002 - Pernod Ricard decided to close Caperdonich one year after they acquired the distillery. They also closed the three distilleries they purchased at the same time; Alt A' Bhainne, Benriach and Braeval (a.k.a. Braes of Glenlivet). Those three distilleries were re-opened within a few years, but the same was not true for Caperdonich.