Scapa 12 Years Old

This official Scapa single malt, a 12 year old Orkney malt and bottled at 40%. Set on the shore of Scapa Flow on Orkney, Scapa has distilled since 1885. Mothballed in 1994, the distillery was revived and fully restored by Pernod Ricard in 2005.

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. First fill American oak suits the make, layering vanilla and honey over the fruit. 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. Water from the Lingro Burn is piped to keep the spirit clear of peat. A long fermentation of up to seventy hours coaxes out the fruity esters.

At 40% it is creamy and fruit forward. Honeyed vanilla and ripe fruit meet a quiet vanilla from the refill oak. Soft orchard fruit and vanilla sit behind the sweetness. The close is gentle, honey over soft oak. This is the gentle, unpeated face of Orkney whisky.