Caperdonich 20yo 1992 Rarest Caperdonich Distillery - Rothes, Morayshire Duncan Taylor bottling (purchase link). WhiskyBase reference page

For info   Reviews on sshhh! aim to detail the flavours, feelings and quality of each dram, wrapped up in as little nonsense as possible (!). Each whisky is tried on its own and given time to speak out, even if they often talk gibberish.
 
Located in Rothes, Caperdonich was originally known as Glen grant #2, but has since developed more of a personality of its own. Bottles are generally well-regarded and its star - and price - is rising. Probably fair to say it's one of the more missed lost Speysiders. - see Malt Madness - Caperdonich for a detailed profile.
 

Tastes & Smells
Starts off smelling of varnish and is slightly sting-y, then nutty and a (maybe distant) appleyness, with a freshness thrown in alongside vanilla and nuttiness. Then comes pot pourri, orange and a sugary sweetness (sugar cane). There's also something a bit unusual on the side: onion.. hmm, onion relish! Once in the mouth, it immediately shouted cream soda ("CREAM SODA!") and kept saying that on each future arrival ("CREAM SODA!", "CREAM SODA!"). It was sweet and light (watery), with maybe a hint of banana and then a few Mexican flavours came to the fore. On the finish, it was sweet but not long with nothing really jumping out.

Worth shouting about?
I thought the nose was a bit vague to start with, but I slowly changed my opinion and over time, it gave some lovely flavours out - I wrote down "lovely" by the end. But there was so little going on in the taste in comparison, which is a real shame. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't that impactful. The taste was like a watered down version of the nose, whilst the finish continued the downward spiral. I absolutely didn't dislike drinking it, it's just that it had started to fade from my memory before I'd even finished.

Summary & Ramblings
Although the flavours weren't that strong, it did take me on a little journey around the world: sugar cane on the nose kicked things off in Jamaica, then some Mexicana on the way to Route 66: this was such a ~6/10 whisky and combined with talk of travel, it was hard to avoid.

Tasted on: 15/02/14 Bought: 27/01/14 Bought from: Master of Malt State: Sober 6.3 1.4

Tasted by Loch Awe, but not the best Caperdonich.

tldr;
Lovely nose, boring everything else. Onion and Mexican vibes helped this have a tiny slice of distinctness, but it was pretty forgettable - not living up to what I've heard Caperdonich can be.
 
 

Unable to connect to MySQL