Caperdonich 21 Year Old 1992 A.D. Rattray Cask 121124

At the festival of Independent Bottlers I took to A.D. Rattray samples, both single cask bottlings of Caperdonich. Sister casks, both put to sleep in 1992, both bottled in 2014 at cask strength. I will put them head-to-head, ending with this 21 Year Old, cask 121124.

It has a sweet nose on Turkish Delight, soft apples, lime and a hint of grain cookies. Rather sweet and certainly sweeter than cask 121139. More spices to, without any one to pinpoint. Adding water makes it spicier still, with clear hints of ginger.

It is quite creamy on the palate, but shows a high acidity. The soft apples turn somewhat sour, like Granny Smith, while some anise and ginger join the fray. Mostly the latter. Then some oranges and a hint of almond paste kick in. Diluted it is more fruity, but also brings the anise more to the fore.

The finish is long, spicy and warm.

Nice Caper, but the acidity is just a tad too big to make this a fruit bomb, even with water. I prefer cask 121139 over this. Around 95 EUR, which is quite acceptable, I think.

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