Review #33: Caperdonich 1992/2012, Berry Bros., 55.9%, Cask #121122

the cask number looks fake to me

Anyway, this is Caperdonich, the ugly stepchild of Glen Grant that had its brief moment of glory around 1972 and then became a housing block or something. Cool name, though -- it's the water source.

Nose: not much at all. Some unripe pears and apples, and a surprising amount of smoke. Maybe some crushed leaves and a bit of pepper. Mostly smells light and young, but after a while some cranberries and then some riper, more tropical fruit emerges, but faintly.

Palate is sweet and salty. Odd. Starts off on a mouthful of pear (as in: one big one, soaked in alcohol and then stuffed in your mouth), then moves to an interestingly spicy vanilla custard. The smoke and some oak tannins pop back in occasionally, but it's spicy vanilla on the finish.

This isn't bad, but it's a strange mix of young (pear, smoke, alcohol burn) and old (the riper fruit and the oak). Sort of Decades-like in that way, but it doesn't quite work for me.

score: 82


update: the finish is actually really, really good, in a rich fruit pastry kind of way. but how many points can you give to a whisky that you like best once it's gone?