13/03/2026 Caperdonich

Caperdonich 16yo 1972/1988 Benan 1875 (40%, Signatory Vintage Sailing Ships Series No 1, Sherry Casks, C#7130-7132, 1200b, b#135): nose: fairly delicate, it has what one would expect of an elegant Sherry maturation: a lick of encaustic, Medjool dates, dried figs, prunes, currants. Soon, it brings blueberries too, both fresh and dried. Despite what the dried fruits may suggest, it smells like a juicy number, this one! It graduates to smashed plums and pouring honey in a matter of minutes, flirts with rambutan, and comes back to prunes, now earthier than ever -- so earthy, in fact, that it takes on the form of potato peels dripping with lumps of clay. And here are an oiled cabinet desk or a full desk with a leather desk blotter littered with old pens. The second nose is an unsubtle slap of Sherry-soaked currants in the face, welcoming, warming, reminiscent of that bearded friend you have not seen for decades, yet you remember being the life of the party whenever he was there. We have a mix of dried currants, blueberries, prunes and cranberries, with chopped dates to elevate the mix, but not enough to recognise them with certainty. Mouth: a relaxed attack introduces all sorts of dried fruits, chiefly currants, but also prunes, cranberries and Corinth raisins. Those are so dark it is tempting to make a parallel with black liquorice, yet that would be a mistake. No! it stops well short of that kind of rubbery bitterness. Chewing reveals a drop (just a drop) of black-as-night coffee, promptly submerged by a generous pour of plum juice augmented with prune syrup. It has an earthy side too, to be sure; Pedro Ximénez, cream Sherry (remember: a blend of PX and Oloroso), leather saddles and rehydrated-mushroom water. At a push, one may even spot a horse, somewhere, though it is not really animal. The second sip manages to be both juicy and drying, with more of those excellent dried fruits (prunes in the lead, this time), dark honey and earth that reeks of petrichor. This comes close to honey on toasts eaten in a forest clearing in late September. The earthy freshness that comes from chewing may even be the fragrant layer of pine needles on the floor of said clearing. Finish: more of the same; earthy-leathery notes soon succumb to the joint assaults of currants, prunes, cranberries and honey (this time tar-black). It has an almost-minty freshness, which is quite astonishing and comes across as a mint drop dunked into a glass of sweet Sherry, with a bowl of currants to eat along. It is a very-long finish in which the fruity, raisin-y notes recede to make room for bold earthy ones -- liquorice root, now, as well as teriyaki sauce. The tongue is left to deal with cooling embers, and that is pretty pleasant. The second gulp strikes a masterly balance of dried fruits and earthy compounds. Mulch, potting soil, mushroom juices in a frying pan and mocha-flavoured toffee. Despite the fact that the bitterness associated with the latter lingers on the tongue enough to redact the dried fruits, it remains a remarkable drop,nallnin all. When JS opened this, I was nervous it would have suffered from evaporation: at 40% with a level just below the base of the neck, it could have been weakish. Not so. Not even tired -- phew! 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)