Whisky: Caperdonich 23 Year (1979), SMWS 38.12 "Spiced cooking apples"

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 55.2%

Cask: Oak

Age: 23 (Distilled Nov. 1979, Bottled March 2003)

Nose: Green apples with a hint of guava and waxy lemon rind, old wood and mellow grassy sugars, apple skins and cider, butter and light brown sugar, sawdust with a kiss of black pepper.

Palate: Medium-bodied, waxy, green apples and preserved lemons, cider and herbal jasmine tea with hints of mint, waxy lemon, underlying salt, and mineral, underlying notions of stained wood and earth.

Finish: Long and lingering with citrus, grassy sugars, and earth.

Score: 7 (80)

Mental Image: Big Orchard Propaganda Department

Narrative & Notes: Big, bold orchard fruits delivered with a metric ton of green apples just spilling in all directions— some crushed in cider, blended into apple sauce, or slighted and tossed with butter and light brown sugar for pie making. Discarded green apple skins lingered with hints of tropical guava and waxy lemon rinds.  Oak drifted underneath everything else— old wood, sawdust, and antiques with a touch of fresh grassy sugars and tinging black pepper.  Medium-bodied and waxy on the palate with green apples— albeit less intense than on the aroma— preserved lemons, cider, sauce, and then a lovely herbal jasmine tea that developed after the fruits with hints of mint, waxy lemons, and hints of mineral water or salt.  Underlying notions of stained wood, antiques, and earth lingered in the background. The finish was long and lingering with citrus, grassy sugars, and earth.

Originally, Caperdonich was known as Glen Grant 2 as it was built right across the way from its older and more illustrious neighbor. You could convince me that this cask was actually produced at the original Glen Grant and smuggled across the street to Caperdonich, as the flavor profile felt right at home there with its big apples and more subtle earth, salt, or wood.

Overall, the flavors were nice, if not a bit boring, and not really my favorite, but the mouthfeel and finish were superb. I considered scoring this a bit lower as there really is not a lot going on here, and the profile is fairly basic, but the lovely waxy quality and the deep, long-lasting finish were just that good.

Image Credit: The Whisky Exchange