Caperdonich distillery was founded in 1898 in Rothes, alongside Glen Grant distillery and was indeed owned by J.J. Grant the owners of the Glen Grant distillery. In fact it was known as "Glen Grant 2"

Sadly, they closed it shortly afterwards in 1902 and it remained closed until 1965 when it was rebuilt & reopened by Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd, changing the name to Caperdonich.

Seagram bought the distillery in 1977, sold it to Pernod Ricard in 2001 and they closed it in 2002.

Caperdonich was finally demolished in 2010.

My thanks to Teun van Wel for permission to use the distillery photo

More great distillery info here, thanks to Malt Madness

Caperdonich

General whisky characteristics: Dry fruit, sometimes herbal and smoky

IB

Independent Bottlings

Weiser,  Caperdonich, 24y, distilled 1980, bottled 2005, (bourbon) Cask 7341, 57.7% ABV

'Vintage Cask' bottling, sampled at Limburg whisky fair.

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Warm and gentle light sherry and slightly herbal.

Palate: Initially sharp and slightly bitter with hints of caramel and liquorice, turning dry, flowery and herbal.

Overall Impression: Enjoyable, but not memorable. This was my first Caperdonich and maybe my last. Why? The distillery is now mothballed and the few IBs which have been released, have a reputation for mediocrity and are not available in abundance. I understand there are a couple of older IB editions highlighted on the Malt Madness page which have excellent reviews.

Whisky Fair (Limburg),  Caperdonich, 35y, distilled Nov. 1972, bottled Aug. 2008, Refill Hogshead, 48.3% ABV

A sample sent to me to try blind

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Amber

Nose: Richly polished old oak, fruity (raisins & bramble) wood and leather. Is that a hint of toasted lavendar too?

Palate: Smooth and creamy, with dark fruit and aged oak.

With 3 drops of water: More aromatic nose, sweeter palate, but it has opened to include treacle toffee and coconut. Perhaps even slight banana skin.

Finish: Very long, sweet and fruity, especially with the water added.

Overall Impression: Very nice, but no way did I identify this one in my blind tasting.

Cross Hill (JWWW), Caperdonich, 1969 - 2010, 46.4% ABV

One of 147 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Dram-atics live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Light yellow gold

Nose: Very floral malt and wood with something quite fresh and quite "Caperdonich"

Palate: I'm struggling to fully identify the elements of the palate here, it has something like toffee, but not quite and nor is it quite butterscotch, then a maltiness alongside some fruit. It's quite dry on the palate and also slightly bitter.

Finish: Medium to long and extremely pleasant.

Overall Impression: Make no mistake, despite my struggle to describe the aromas and flavours this is an excellent whisky which I love!

Duncan Taylor "Rare Auld", Caperdonich, 38y, 11.1972 - 12.2010, 52.9% ABV

Cask No.7439

Typical cost of this bottle; Unknown

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Bright golden yellow

Nose: A very rich fruitiness caresses the nose with suggestions of apricot, plum and cherry but there's also a woodiness, perhaps more like sawdust? I also detect a light earthiness which is almost herbal, but not quite. Overall this is a wonderfully aromatic nose.

Palate: Cherries with a suggestion of wild mushroom (specifically Steinpilz in German). Ahh lovely, fruity, earthy, woody, creamy and with some rather floral honey.

Finish: Very long.

Overall Impression: Marvellous, wonderful, in fact a "Great".

Boutique-y Whisky Co., Caperdonich, NAS, 45.7% ABV

Bottle No.80 of 120 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Pale yellow

Nose: Initially a lightly smouldering fruitiness, then becoming much fresher to the point of being lightly perfumed. This is now very aromatic and even suggests some hints of coconut. Delightful.

Palate: Lightly toasted whilst retaining fruitiness through a gentle tingle. This all grows or expands across the palate and offers a slight dryness. I love it.

Finish: Surprisingly long.

Overall Impression: Such a gentle character with a big punch makes this a real gentle giant. Delightful, I love it.

Cadenhead, Caperdonich, 35y, 1977-2013, 50.2% ABV

Cadenhead "Small Batch" series, Sherry Butt, one of 384 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Very dark bronze, treacle toffee-ish.

Nose: Creamy mouth-feel, aged woodiness, light furniture polish, all very nice but in no way overpowering.

Palate: Nice and smooth but much richer than the nose with almonds and a definite suggestion of café crème.

Finish: Long.

Overall Impression: Very civilised and rich with quite a lot happening. This is a "Great".

Caperdonich, 19y

Lady Of The Glen bottling

but sample mis-abbreviated to LODG

Original cost of this bottle; Unknown

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Brass

Nose: Initially aromatic suggestion of woodiness combined with biscuit-y-ness. Also a dried leafiness and very faint toffee apple or maybe more accurately toffee pear if it exists.

Palate: Mildly floral in character with a tingle that reminds me of ginger or maybe chinese spices. There's also a fruitiness that definitely suggests pear.

Finish: Medium to long.

Overall Impression: I really like the ginger / chinese spice-iness even though it's mild but there's a little depth of character missing.

The rarity of Caperdonich Original Distillery bottlings

I oroginally reported that Caperdonich has never issued an OB and was only available as occasional Independent (IB) bottlings. It has now come to light that there was one Caperdonich OB issued in the 1970's, but it was only available in Italy as an import, although it was an OB.

I am indebted to Lothar Langer for this information and also for the photos of this unique bottling.

Thanks to Tom, a good online friend, fellow whisky connoisseur and twitter user under the name of AWG_Whisky I have been notified of one more Caperdonich OB bottling.

This is a 16y, cask strength 1988-2005, batch CD 16 001 at 55.8% abv, 50cl and from the "Cask Strength Edition" series from Pernod Ricard.