Scapa Chivas Brothers – Cask Strength Edition 15 Years Old 1993

This Scapa, an official release matured to 15 year old from 1993, drawn from cask Batch SC 15 002 and bottled at 57.1%. Scapa was built in 1885 on the shore of Scapa Flow on Orkney, and it stands as Orkney's quieter, softer distillery. It overlooks Scapa Flow, the anchorage where the German fleet was scuttled in 1919.

It was worked through a Lomond still and an onion still for body and fruit, for the creamy, honeyed make Scapa is known for. First fill American oak held it, layering vanilla and honey over the fruit. Past a decade the honey deepens into tropical fruit, vanilla and a soft spice. The creamy new make takes American oak particularly well. Island maturation by the sea lends a faint salt air to the honeyed spirit. The Lomond still is the only one of its kind still making Scotch whisky. Orkney's history runs back seven thousand years, from Neolithic times to Norse rule.

At its natural 57.1% it is concentrated and honeyed. A creamy, honeyed sweetness sit alongside a quiet vanilla from the refill oak. It is soft and rounded, the honeyed spirit shining through. It closes long, honeyed and creamy. This is Scapa's soft, maritime Orkney style.