Caperdonich

Caperdonich was a Speyside single malt distillery that was in operation from 1897 to 1902, and then 1965 to 2002. In the latter period, Caperdonich became an important part of the famous Chivas Regal blend. This highly regarded malt was known as a 'top dresser' - a single malt that accentuates other malts in a blend and allows them to express themselves better. Now, bottlings are rare and highly sought after by connoisseurs as good examples of 'old school Speyside malt'.

Caperdonich was known for its fragrant and fruity style of single malt. Very few bottlings of Caperdonich single malt exist. This is due to passing time and its heavy use within Chivas Regal. Most remaining stock is held by Chivas Brothers. They have current bottlings available at 21, 25 and 30 years old (unpeated classic style) and at 18, 21 and 25 years old (peated Speyside style). They form part of the wider Secret Speyside Collection. Independent bottlers are also a good source with Gordon & Macphail, Signatory Vintage and That Boutique-y Whisky Company releasing cask strength bottles recently.

No single malt has been distilled at Caperdonich since 2002. Water was taken from the Caperdonich Burn. There were eight fermentation washbacks and two pairs of steam-powered stills. These were producing two million litres per year by the time Caperdonich closed. Most were in a fruity Speyside style but a small amount each year was peated. This practice began in 1972 when the owner decided to switch two of their distilleries to produce peated malt to fulfil blending requirements. This resulted in not having to purchase peated whisky from rivals and saving money. Benriach, also in Speyside, was the other distillery to switch.

Caperdonich was founded in 1897 and was located in the Speyside town of Rothes. The distillery was built opposite its sister distillery of Glen Grant and was the idea of James Grant Jr. Glen Grant has reached capacity so Caperdonich was designed to help further increase single malt production. James Jr. was known as 'The Major' and was the son of Glen Grant's co-founder, James Grant. He inherited the distillery when his father died in 1872.

The second distillery was unromantically named Glen Grant No.2. However, after only five years in operation, it closed in 1902. The distillery was not to restart production until 1965 when it was purchased by The Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd. Only then was it renamed as Caperdonich, which translates as 'secret well' from the local dialect. They completely renovated the old distillery and made it one of the most technologically advanced distilleries in Scotland at the time.

Caperdonich was taken over by Seagram's in 1977 and they operated the distillery until 2001. Then Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky arm of the larger Pernod Ricard company, took control. After just one year of operation, Caperdonich was mothballed in 2002. Mothballing is the process where a distillery is closed but remains intact and ready to restart production when needed.

But Caperdonich was destined to never restart production. The distillery buildings were demolished in 2010 and the land was sold to Forsyth's, the famous coppersmiths. They used it to extend their workshops which produce stills and other equipment for distilleries all over the world.