Duncan Taylor Peerless Caperdonich 1968 (38 year old) 54.7%
Bourbon Cask 2617/ Dist: Oct 1968 Btl: Feb 2007/ Tasted: Sept 2007
Awesome! A nose to die for. So complex and balanced its almost ethereal. Crisp and lively with rich dried fruit, mature honey and leather, lanolin, nutmeg and fresh vanilla pods. The mature Bourbon aromas lavishly coat the fruit. Incredibly complex. So rich, soft and mouthfilling. Fruity and multi-dimensional. A stunning integration of Bourbon oak, mature honey, dried fruit, maple syrup, vanilla dusted tropical fruit and the sweetest spice. Awesome!
Very long, soft and luxurious with oodles of nutty flavours on the finish. Magnificent. A drop of water makes it even better, bringing out notes of cherries, straw and hay. A sumptuous and amazing dram.
Duncan Taylor Rare Auld Caperdonich 1972 (35 year old) 51.3%
Bourbon Cask 6712/ Dist: Oct 1972 Btl: Oct 2007/ Tasted: Oct 2007
A strange nose of melted butter along with botanicals, vanilla, old rose petal and rubbery notes.
The palate is soft and floral, pretty straightforward with botanical, light honey, vanilla, soft spice and a touch of rubber on the middle. Medium length with a soft spice shimmer in the finish. In conclusion: The palate is a lot better than the nose but ultimately it’s rather disappointing.
Duncan Taylor Rare Auld Caperdonich 1972 (36 year old) 54.8%
Bourbon Cask 7422/ Dist: Nov 1972 Btl: Mar 2009/ Tasted: July 2009
What a weird nose! Earthy and stinky, it reminds me of old Chenin Blanc. Oily and herbal with menthol infused honey. Quite intriguing. Later comes some burnt wood/ charred timber, candied almonds and an almost sherry note(?) Over time a slight sickly note appears and gets sweeter. Water really brings out the candied note.
The palate is earthy, herbal and menthol honeyed fruit. Is this a well-used ex-Amontillado cask? I can’t quite make up my mind. Again that slightly sickly candied note is present, and with water it is enhanced. The finish is tart and candied with lots of marc notes, which implies that the spirit is creaking somewhat.
Duncan Taylor Rare Auld Caperdonich 1972 (37 year old) 56.5%
Bourbon Cask 7414/ Dist: Nov 1972 Btl: Mar 2010/ Tasted: Apr 2010
A gargantuan, enveloping nose of liquorice infused herbal honey. A more Cognac-esque dried fruit rancio with dried orange fruit rind, sultanas and dried apricot. Mountainous polished mature oak entwines with the gorgeous sweet honey laden spices, sawdust, demarara sugar and earthy notes. It’s definitely a venerably beasty and I imagine that in its youth it was quiet a hot one as there is a slight touch of acetone and oily boiled sweets note, but it’s holding up quiet magnificently.
The palate is old and pretty woody to begin with. It’s like picking wood splinters out of your teeth. However it’s by no means over the hill. The herbal-heathery honey and Cognac dried fruits fight back before the intense alcohol clears the way for some light boiled sweet, mature rose petals and yet more dried fruit. Finally finishing with demerara sugar, liquorice and light engine oil.
A drop of water brings forward the oak with oily marzipan notes. On the palate it does the opposite, dampening the assertive wood and alcohol, allowing the pure demerara sugar sprinkled dried fruit more leeway. Either way it’s entertaining and enjoyable.
Duncan Taylor Rare Auld Caperdonich 1970 (38 year old) 42.3%
Bourbon Cask 4376/ Dist: Jul 1970 Btl: Apr 2009/ Tasted: Apr 2009
Wow! A deep and mature nose of slightly tropical fruit, honeycomb and dusty spices. A huge violet note comes out of left field as does some decaying rose petals. All wrapped up in the most delightful moist honey. For all it’s age it has a sublime crispness.
After that wonderful nose the palate is somewhat disappointing. It open with aged honey and coffee, yet there is a lacking in the complexity stakes that the nose leads you to believe. The middle is laden down with wood tannins yet a decaying rose petal note breaks through before descending into a rum like, dried fruit and peppery finish.
A drop of water emphasises the luxurious orange fruit and the wood spices, however the palate finally creaks and falls over into a sticky, candied watery morass with a dried out finish. Not even a late spice burst saves it. Shame!
Duncan Taylor Rare Auld Caperdonich 1970 (38 year old) 46.8%
Bourbon Cask 4381/ Dist: Jul 1970 Btl: Apr 2009/ Tasted: Apr 2009
Deep, oily and petroly. It reminds me of Guyana rum. Gorgeously soft spicy, orange fruit liberally sprinkled with caster sugar follows, as do hints of rose petals, light honey and vanilla. It takes awhile to really open and never quiet reaches the depth of the cask 4376, yet I think it has a better balance. There is less of the marc-like character and the orange fruit has a delightful liquid silkiness to it.
The palate is soft and delicately oily with light honey and a coffee/ cream note. It seems quiet reserved and there is no shortage of wood spices on the middle along with a touch of marc. It’s a bit short and the alcohol even at this strength is intrusive and leaves a spirity/ vodka like finish.
A drop of water emphasises the floral orange fruit and spices on the nose. On the palate it becomes watery and all traces of fruit have definitely gone south. It is a shame that it wasn’t bottled a few years ago.
Duncan Taylor Rare Auld Caperdonich 1968 (39 year old) 56.0%
Cask 2608/ Dist: Oct 1968 Btl: Dec 2007/ Tasted: Jan 2008
My, this is a truly amazing sherry cask! Intense and earthy aromas of glorious fruit, chocolate, mature honey, a touch of spice, floor polish, vanilla and a slight floral note. Just the nose is worth the entry fee! The aromas envelop the senses. Truly amazingly mature.
The palate is pure liquid honey heaven! Along with chocolate, a touch of wood tannins, sherry spice and the most amazingly mature fruit. The mid palate is stunning and has this rum like dried spiced fruit thing going on. Intense, rich, fruity and exceedingly long. Finishes with menthol and reedy grass notes.
A drop of water makes no changes to the nose, but on the palate it makes it much more floral with a violety note. It really emphasises the natural oils. It removes a bit of the intensity but the spices just dance on the tongue. This is just too damn good! Take it neat or with water, either way it is one hell of a dram!
Duncan Taylor Lonach Caperdonich 1969 (39 year old) 42.2%
Bourbon/ Dist: 1969 Btl: Nov 2008/ Tasted: Nov 2008
Light and very herbal with some delicate mature honey and barley. A pleasant depth with a background of tropical fruit.
Light and honeyed on the palate with lots of barley and mature honey, a touch of vanilla, butterscotch, malt, coconut and lush tropical fruit. So far so good, but it is extremely woody and tannic and to be honest a bit unrefined with a somewhat bitter finish and a winey/ oily aftertaste.
I have yet to be completely convinced by the Lonach bottlings. In theory the vatting together of over and under strength casks is an interesting idea. However it would appear that these bottlings turn out to be overly woody in character. You may say that is a small price to pay for a relatively cheap old malt, and you might be correct if you are prepared to accept this characteristic. In my opinion if you are thinking of spending £80 to £100 on a malt you get more bang for your bucks with their single cask selection.
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 