Scapa 25 Years Old 1980 (Ex-Bourbon)

This official Scapa single malt, aged 25 year old from 1980 and bottled at 54%. Just 2000 bottles were filled. Scapa was established in 1885 by the sheltered waters of Scapa Flow; it has made its honeyed island malt for well over a century. 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. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the fruit. Beyond eighteen years the malt grows oily and waxy, tropical fruit and honey over a soft sea air. A long fermentation builds the orchard and tropical fruit before the cask. 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. Mothballed in 1994, Scapa was restored and revived by Pernod Ricard in 2005.

At 54%, undiluted, it is deep and creamy. Honey, melon and a maritime lift meet honeyed oak sweetness underneath. Beneath it run honey, pear and a soft spice. Pear, honey and oak draw out the close. This is the honeyed island malt of Orkney.