Scapa 16 Years Old (48%)

An official Scapa single malt, a 16 year old and bottled at 48%. Scapa, founded in 1885 by Macfarlane and Townsend on the Orkney coast a mile from Highland Park, is the honeyed counterpoint to peated Highland Park. Scapa is one of the few distilleries still worked largely by hand.

It was drawn off a wide necked Lomond still that lends a creamy, oily weight, for a honeyed, tropical spirit with a maritime edge. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak that lets the fruit lead. Mid age brings a deeper honey and a riper tropical note. The oily texture from the Lomond still carries cask flavour beautifully. Scapa Flow saw the German High Seas Fleet scuttled in the summer of 1919. Scapa sits a mile from Highland Park, yet makes a wholly unpeated, honeyed malt. Its rare Lomond wash still, plates removed, gives a creamy, oily spirit through heavy copper contact. The distillery looks out over Scapa Flow, the great anchorage of two world wars.

Bottled at a cask strength 48%, it is rich. A gentle vanilla and coconut from the wood runs under tropical fruit and a soft spice. It is smooth and deep, the fruit and honey well matched. The finish is deep, oily and fruity. This is a fruity, honeyed Orkney whisky.