Built in 1898 Caperdonich was originally known as Glen Grant no.2 with the spirit being used to support its more well-known namesake nearby. Whilst having the same equipment and water source it produced a different spirit, closed after only a few years in 1902 the distillery remained silent for the next six decades before being brought back to life. With the installation of new distilling technology and renamed Caperdonich the distillery moved forward. Sadly the site was closed for good in 2002 with the last building being removed in 2011, much of the distilling equipment is now fitted into other distilleries so the legacy of Caperdonich lives on.
This 50 year old Caperdonich was distilled in 1969 and has lay maturing in Oak cask number 3253, and was bottled in 2020 at cask strength of 47.9% producing only 88 bottles. Each bottle is a drop of pure history.
THE EXPERIENCE
COLOUR: Bright Gold
NOSE: Beautifully malty and sweet
PALATE: On the palate you’ll find a frothy caramel latte topped with cinnamon
FINISH: A long-lasting finish of soft gentle warm spices and sweet toasted oak notes round it off.
ABOUT THE DISTILLERY
Built in 1898 in the midst of a whisky boom and just before the infamous Pattison crash of the same year, Caperdonich has had a very chequered past. Originally known as Glen Grant no.2 it was planned to work alongside its more famous next-door neighbour but even though with the same water and barley sources and identical hardware, the distillery produced a different spirit. The first closure came only a few years after opening in 1902 and that saw the distillery close its doors for more than 60 years.
Production started again in 1965 under the auspices of Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd who sold it to Seagram in 1977 and finally Pernod Ricard in 2001. Shortly after the distillery was closed again and this time for the final time before being dismantled and demolished in 2011. The site is now part of the ever expanding business of Forsyths(Coppersmiths) who make many of the pot stills you find around the world in the whisky industry today.
The legacy of Caperdonich does live on in as much as many pieces of equipment found new homes. One set of stills went to Central Scotland and the new Falkirk Distillery in Camelon, the other going further afield to Belgium and the Owl Distillery. Heating tanks went to Glenallachie and the mill is rumoured to be in Annandale Distillery.
Caperdonich was never a big distillery and with being closed so much older casks are extremely rare, at Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Ltd we are fortunate to have a few casks from the 1960’s which could very well be some of the oldest stock left in the world today. This bottling is truly from a bygone era.
