Caperdonich 1979/2023 G&M PVC Private Collection #1105

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 53.1% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This bottling spent more than four decades maturing in a single refill Sherry Butt. The Caperdonich was distilled on 6 March 1979 and matured for 43 years in cask number 1105. Refill denotes a cask previously used to mature whisky; this cask had previously held sherry.

On 10 January 2023, Gordon & MacPhail bottled the whisky at its natural cask strength of 53.1%. This single-cask release comprises 246 bottles and forms part of the second edition of the Recollection Series within the Private Collection. This annual selection focuses on long-matured whiskies from the bottler’s stocks.

This non-smoky single malt is bottled without added colouring or chill filtration. The 0.7-litre bottle comes in an oak presentation case.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Sweet, cooked red berries give way to bitter orange peel and mixed nuts. Toffee with dark sugar syrup mingles with Christmas spices and a hint of grapefruit.
• Palate: The whisky is smooth and sweet on the palate. Raspberries and blackcurrants meet butterscotch. Prunes are followed by walnuts and a hint of dried banana.
• Finish: The full, long finish is spicy, with lingering citrus fruit.

Distillery/Bottler:

Caperdonich stood in Rothes in Speyside and was established as Glen Grant’s sister distillery under the name Glen Grant Number 2. After an early closure, it resumed production in 1965. Its later name refers to the well from which it drew its water. Production ended permanently in 2002; surviving casks have since made further bottlings from this closed distillery possible.

Gordon & MacPhail is a family-owned company based in Elgin. James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail founded it in 1895 as a grocery shop whose range included tea, wine and whisky. John Urquhart and later his son George developed the selection and long-term maturation of single malts. Matching spirit with the right oak cask became central to their work.

As an independent bottler, Gordon & MacPhail had its own casks filled with new-make spirit at Scottish distilleries, then stored them either there or in its own warehouses in Elgin. This practice ended at other distilleries in 2024, while substantial maturing stocks remain. For the Private Collection, the directors, including members of the Urquhart family, select individual casks. Caperdonich produced the whisky in this release; Gordon & MacPhail is responsible for its selection and bottling.

Facts: