Scapa 15 Years Old 2005 Cask #479 (Connoisseurs Choice)

Gordon & MacPhail selected this Scapa, a 15 year old release from 2005, drawn from cask 479 and bottled at 55.4%. The outturn was 201 bottles. Scapa, built in 1885 by the sheltered waters of Scapa Flow, is the honeyed counterpoint to peated Highland Park. Unusually for an island malt, Scapa is wholly unpeated, soft and honeyed where its neighbours are smoky.

Distilled on Lingro Burn water through its unusual Lomond still, building the gentle Orkney style it is loved for. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a creamy honeyed sweetness. Around twelve to sixteen years the malt gains a fuller honey over the fruit. A long fermentation builds the orchard and tropical fruit before the cask. It is one of the few distilleries still worked largely by hand. Founded in 1885, it is the second oldest distillery on Orkney after Highland Park. Island maturation by the sea lends a faint salt air to the honeyed spirit.

At a hearty 55.4% it carries real weight. Honey, melon and a maritime lift meet honeyed oak sweetness underneath. Beneath it run honey, pear and a soft spice. A honeyed, fruity finish lingers long. This is the honeyed island malt of Orkney.