Caperdonich Distillery 2000 - 2021 21 Year Old Whisky Sponge Edition No.43 Single Refill Hogshead Single Malt Scotch Whisky ABV 55% Vol 70cl / 700ml (Pre-Order 7 Days)

Over to Glen Grant’s previous ‘site B’ (at least until 2010 when it was demolished having been closed for the previous 9 years following a questionable acquisition by Pernod Ricard) for Sponge’s second Caperdonich – this edition being a 21 year old that has been fully matured in a refill hogshead before being bottled at 55% ABV.

Nose: Apricots are cooked in butter (a definitely oily note here) whilst overripe cantaloupe and glace cherries join almond-light cherry Bakewell’s, thick pancakes, waffles and honeycomb. In the background, arrowroot and dried leaves. Dilution offers gummy snakes and planed oak, but it’s a touch narrower in profile.

Taste: Faty, almost but not quite waxy. Mint cream and crème patisserie join dark honey and coconut shavings, whilst apple and stone fruits ae reduced down and spooned into a flan case. In the background – piquancy with red pepper, anise and ginger. Reduction presents a real tutti-frutti character with melon, lychee, tangerine and cider apples – it’s pretty glorious.

Finish: Long with coconut oil, minty oak and fading assorted reduced fruits.

This Sponge Caperdonich offers a somewhat profile to that of Edition’s 42 Grant Grant – and in many ways you’d rather expect that to be the case. But here, things are far deeper, richer and fattier and the whisky is arguable more complicated as a result. The palate adores being diluted; however the nose finds itself a little restricted by it. I’m nit-picking here though – lovely stuff that’s a pleasure to get to know and to enjoy.

PRODUCT SUMMARY