While this just might be the last bottle of ‘Caper’, it unfortunately is not one of the legendary 1972 vintages. For quite a long time the nineties bottlings of Caperdonicht weren’t overly popular, but with popularity soaring and stocks dwindling, newish bottlings have ramped up to hundreds of Europe too.
This particular one is still available in some semi-secondary markets. Originally this was released by Van Zuylen, a Dutch shop near The Hague. Currently some shops in Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom still have bottles available.
Anyway, I got a bottle second hand too, shared most of it and finished the last glass of it this weekend. A very late review, with it being open for a year or so there might be some effect of oxygen on it. I doubt it, since a year isn’t that long for a bottle of Scotch.
Sniff:
Massively rich oak, some vanilla, mango and other tropical fruits. Mulchy oak, pound cake, multi fruit juice.
Sip:
The palate is a lot stronger, and drier. Lots of barley, grist, oak shavings. Some pound cake, a bit of candied lemon, a tropical sweetness.
Swallow:
The finish is much better than the palate. More complexity with old wood, fruit, spices. Still a tad nondescript.
What a weird dram. A gorgeous nose, and some lovely flavors on the palate and finish too. However, the palate is very sharp, the nose is very fruity and the finish veers towards spiciness. So, while there’s quite a bit to like, it’s very, very inconsistent. It’s like nosing one whisky, tasting another one and having the finish of a third.
Interesting, but if this is what modern (read: available) Caperdonich is about, I’d rather spend two bucks on another kind of caper, and save myself about € 400… I guess the price is warranted by obscurity more than by flavor.
86/100
Malt Fascination 