Caperdonich 1972 vintage x 10

[lincoln imp]

1972 36 year 57% cask 1975 GM Reserve - 92/93/92
1972 38 year 57.4% cask 1144 Malts of Scotland - 91/93/92 - previous score 90/92/91
1972 38 year 58.4% TWA The Perfect Dram - 91/92/93 - previous score 94/93/94
1972 36 year 49.9% cask 1976 GM Cask Strength - 90/91/91
1972 39 year 52.8% TWA Private Stock -90/90/92 -previous scores 91/92/93 & 95/93/94
1972 36 year 51.2% cask 7446 Duncan Taylor Rare Auld - 90/90/92
1972 41 year 53.7% cask 7442 Duncan Taylor Tantalus - 92/89/90
1972 39 year 54% Whisky Fassle Duck Label - 88/89/90
1972 36 year 48.7% cask 7431 Duncan Taylor Rare Auld - 86/87/87
1972 35 year 50.3% cask 7424 Duncan Taylor Rare Auld - 90/84/85

It is clear from this tasting that the first fill sherry were among the best here, GM cask 1975 came top here with cask 1976 was 4th. The MoS is one I have had before and is excellent, (believed first fill also) and both the TWA ones are also good being refill sherry casks. Two of the DT were good but two were not as good but still got a decent score, The whisky Fassle also got a very respectable score.

It looks like Glen Grant No2 can age just as well in first/second fill sherry cask as it's still running sister distillery.

It is fair to say that in the last few years my palate has become really sensitive to woody bitterness which is why on these re tastes most of the time my scores are lower (MoS an exception) The Score of the private stock TWA is much lower from 4 years ago.

Worthy of note is that the MoS bottle had a slightly higher score and the two TWA bottles were lower than the last time I tried them

Tasting notes

1-1972 36 year 57% cask 1975 GM Reserve - 92/93/92

A Great cask, nuff said, total quality.
This will be a hard act to follow.

Nose
A heavy sherry bonanza, exploding with dark fruits, blueberry, damson, ripe dark red plum, mulled wine spice of the richest kind,
Hints of ginger and faint paprika.
Taste
I added a little water which has checked the oak, so my advice is to try with water from the start.
Great balance on this one once you add a little water.
Jammy dark fruits is the order of the day here, blackberry, blackcurrant, plum and every other dark fruit you care to mention, so rich, lip smacking.
A juicy, dark fruit sherry combo that was for once bottled at exactly the right time
Finish
Fades into the distance slowly, lingers with the fruit singing

2-1972 38 year 57.4% cask 1144 Malts of Scotland - 91/93/92

The nose is not as expressive as i remember but the palate has so much going on with good balance between fruit, sherry, spice and a little peat.
Notes of 2 years ago still stand but palate better.
A quality old whisky

June 2019
This is really nice and fruity, with good balance and the slight sweetness mixed with the fruit is a bonus
Nose
A lively fruity nose is my first thought.
Ripe plum, melon, mulled wine spice, blackcurrant, dark raisins, and then a little black olive.
Taste
Creamy, spicy and fizzy palate with a little caramel, date and walnut.
A little pistachio and then some dry smoked ham, hints of bacon.
The sherry is really good and mixes with dark plum and blackcurrant, good balance on show
Finish
Long finish, retains its power, sweetness & spice.

With water the nose gets a few orange notes but basically the same, and the palate gets more rounded, sweeter with a little bubble gum and Turkish Delight

3-1972 38 year 58.4% TWA The Perfect Dram - 91/92/93

With a little water added, the spice and fruit are really expressive but taste wise i think my first review in 2019 is still just about right for me.
A very good whisky but slightly lower average score from me today

December 2019
A crystallised fruit basket of high quality with touches of the best Clynelish.
A very expressive whisky, water is recommended to release all the fruit flavours.

Nose
A huge basket of stewed fruits, Christmas fruits the crystallised type fruit jellies, various fruit peels, orange, lemon, lime, shoe polish, furniture polish and something a little medicinal and then a few grassy notes, smelling more like a rich liqueur as you go on.
The orange spice note mixed with iron-brew/Lucozade is a real treat.
Taste
Rich, viscous and it has a clynelish waxiness like the highly acclaimed 17 year manager's dram but there is more, a superb fruit gum mix on top of that.
There is some peat mixing with the fruit and there is a slight walnut taste in the mix with an almost Cointreau like edge but the few drops of water have not tamed this enough so I will add a few more.
Yes much better , less sherbet fizz that allows the succulent fruit to shine
Finish
Rich, layers of fruit and something medicinal but I cannot put my finger on it.
It gets really syrupy and the fruit zest washes over your tongue

4-1972 36 year 49.9% cask 1976 GM Cask Strength - 90/91/91

A nice sherried old Caperdonich

Nose
Blueberry , lots of it mixed with blackberry, cinnamon, pecan nuts, faint cranberry , a little red currant .
Quite pleasant.
Taste
Full bodied, a little syrupy, a little wood bit within acceptable levels.
The fruit on the nose is all here on the palate, it is rich and because the rich dark fruits are so strong they are keeping the obvious wood at bay.
The sherry is about as rich as you can get.
With water:-
More sweetness is released with the welcome edition of a lively spice note
Finish
Medium length, remaining a little sweet and syrupy till the end.

5-1972 39 year 52.8% TWA Private Stock - 90/90/92

A good nose is followed by a spicy palate with just a hint of wood intrusion from the cask
I think 92p is a fair reflection.

January 2021
A good nose is followed by a spicy palate with just a hint of wood intrusion from the cask
I think 92p is a fair reflection.

July 2017

Nose
Now that is a nose of quality, lots of fruit, ripe plum, peach, cinder toffee, rich chocolate, dark honey, furniture polish,
Taste
Full on attack that coats the tongue, sherry, peat, woody bitterness, hints of orange, Christmas spices like you get in mulled wine, buttercream, caramel, rich plum, dark cherries that are almost overripe
Finish
Long, still dances on the tongue, with a battle between the woody bitterness and sweet fruit right to the end.

With water - a few drops

The nose is a notch sweeter but just as involving.

The palate is also sweeter with the bitterness gone with just a lovely fruity creaminess left. Finish is still on the long side but not as powerful as when neat .Quality for sure.

6-1972 36 year 51.2% cask 7446 Duncan Taylor Rare Auld - 90/90/92

Tasted with a few drops of water.
The palate is not that complex but still a quality dram and the finish is really good and the best part.
it was always going to be a tough gig following the first fill sherry cask 1975 GM, but it held it head up high no problem.
You need to take your time with with this one to get the best out of it.

Nose
White fruits on the nose, green apple skins, hints of mango and pineapple, those sugared pineapple chunk sweets covered in sugar and the lighter coloured jelly bear sweets.
Taste
With a few drops of water this is sweet and really fruity but to be honest does not tick all my boxes, the profile is really simple and one that i do not find that interesting but lets keep going.
icing sugar, green apple, faint gala water melon and hints of candied lemon but they are faint.
The balance is pretty good and it definitely improves with time in the glass.
Better with time in the glass so don't rush this one, I still think it lacks something to score any more than 90p but still a nice dram.
Finish
Long and getting really spicy, just great to be honest

7-1972 41 year 53.7% cask 7442 Duncan Taylor Tantalus - 92/89/90

This is a good whisky but bottled a few years too late and out of 4 Duncan Taylor offerings in this h2h this is the 3rd that was left in a cask too long, a shame, this could have been brilliant, still a good score mind.

Nose
Quite a powerful spicy nose at first, even with a few drops of water added.
Bags of spice and stewed fruits (too many to list) hints of peat and a bourbon cedar wood note in the mix.
After a few minutes, more spice like the ones you get in mulled wine, really good with a hint of ginger.
Taste
The fruit is stewed plum, red apple, faint hint of rhubarb juice, orange liqueur but the wood is out already and fighting for dominance.
As you go on there is a fightback from the residue of the fruit and it could go either way to be honest.
I think the wood overpowers the fruit a little and it loses it's balance as a result but spikes of fruit continue to keep you interested.
It is a close battle but when you pay this much it should be worth it, still a good whisky, but needs to be better at this price.
Finish
The finish is very long, and warming but the flavours go quickly so the finish is warm and almost neutral fruit wise, which is a little strange

8-1972 39 year 54% Whisky Fassle Duck Label - 88/89/90

Tried it with water first but the finish is better neat.
What i would call a nice competent whisky, but not quite 90 point material.

Nose
A light fragrant nose at first that develops on stewed white fruits and fruit gum sweets.
Apple, hint of peach, mango and faint pineapple with a little white pepper spice and hints of sweet peat, like caol ila but not as powerful.
Finally a little orange but faint/
Taste
With a little water added the wood is still showing but the fruit that the nose promised is battling all the way.
The fruit just about holds its own and develops nicely and the spice note and the peat increase, not powerful peat or high ppm but it is there.
Finish
Holds itself together well , long and warming

9-1972 36 year 48.7% cask 7431 Duncan Taylor Rare Auld - 86/87/87

Like cask 7424 this is a little woody, not a bad whisky and get a respectable score but far from great.

Nose
The nose is a bit tame at first then a decent green apple note appears, some cereal and some pineapple skin.
Puff pastry mixed with something slightly perfumey & flowery.
The jury is out to be honest
Taste
Like cask 7424 this has woody bitterness from the start.
The initial fruit burst of plum, apple and pineapple is nice but the wood holds it back, so I will add water.
Water releases a little pepper spice but affects the balance, makes it hotter, which is the opposite to what usually happens when water is added.
It has some cream now and is a little rough
Finish
The finish is quite long and warming with a hint of mint on the tail

10-1972 35 year 50.3% cask 7424 Duncan Taylor Rare Auld - 90/84/85

The average score flatters this on in my view, a disappointment, so not a good start.
I hope the sister casks in this flight are better?
The nose is the best part by far.

Nose
An elegant nose on stewed figs and plum ( I love stewed figs) with hints of orange zest, a cornflake cereal note , (before milk is added? and something similar to corn on the cobb, freshly boiled.
After a minute or so a treacle tart note appears mixing with warm pastry
Taste
Quite fruity but this is a real bitter fruit from the off which ruins it somewhat, so water is needed in my view.
With water it is a little sweeter but not much in truth, sour plum. crab apple, that sort of thing.
Now the wood enters the fray but somehow the fruit pushes through and seems to get a little sweeter, but not enough to save it.
Finish
Finish is reasonable length but not very exciting
_________________
Pour me a glass please.

[Quaich1]

Quite an impressive flight of Caperdonich whiskies. A pleasant vicarious experience for me. Cheers.
_________________
"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[lincoln imp]