Scapa 22 Years Old 2001 Cask #1080 (Connoisseurs Choice)

This is a Scapa single malt, chosen and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, a 22 year old release from 2001, drawn from cask 1080 and bottled at 51.5%. 164 bottles in all. Scapa, first built in 1885 on Orkney, looking out over Scapa Flow, is the honeyed counterpoint to peated Highland Park. A long fermentation of up to seventy hours draws out the fruity esters at its heart.

The spirit was made on a rare Lomond wash still for an oily, full bodied spirit, for a creamy, fruity make of real depth. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, lending honey and vanilla. Past eighteen years the spirit turns waxy and deep while keeping its fruit. Long, cool island ageing lets the fruity spirit take oak gently over many years. A long fermentation of up to seventy hours coaxes out the fruity esters. Mothballed in 1994, Scapa was restored and revived by Pernod Ricard in 2005. The malt long fed the Ballantine's and Teacher's blends before its own fame grew.

Bottled at a cask strength 51.5%, it is rich. Vanilla and a creamy note from the barrel runs under orchard fruit and salt air. A tropical fruit and a faint sea salt give it real lift. The finish is deep, oily and fruity. This is a honeyed malt from the shore of Scapa Flow.