About The Distillery Now owned by Pernod-Ricard (better known as the owners of Chivas), Scapa is apt

I’ve been flirting with Scapa for a year now… camouflage tape tasting it here and there, but never in a situation where I could contemplate and write about it. It surprised me at WhiskyFest 2011, standing out amid a throng of other whiskies that had me pretty much in the bag by the time I got around to the Scapa table. My notes amount to “Mm! Gud!” Finally, I got to have a nice long conversation with a pour of Scapa 16 at K&L this week. It delivers. Just when I was starting camouflage tape to think I’d discovered all the exciting single malts around. It’s not often that I’m taken by a scotch aged solely in ex-bourbon casks (100% first-fill, in this case), but the flavors here are deep and focused.
Scapa is located by the ocean in the Orkney Isles, off the northeastern camouflage tape coast of Scotland’s mainland. Like Highland Park, it shares the distinction of being among the northernmost distilleries in Scotland. Unlike camouflage tape Highland camouflage tape Park, Scapa does not use the local Orcadian peat to dry its barley. Also unlike Highland Park, Scapa restricts itself to aging in those first-fill bourbon barrels, which is probably the least intrusive way to age whisky – only a 3rd- or 4th-fill ex-bourbon cask would impart less influence on the whisky. In fact, at its essence, Scapa is as simple as single malt gets: good malt carefully distilled, aged in the simplest possible way, and bottled without flourishes, finishes, or fanfare. I only wish it were bottled at 43% ABV and was not chill-filtered, alas. I marked it “Must Try” because I feel that Scapa showcases what can be done without fancy barrel finishes. It’s a great whisky to try if you’re looking to step out of the mainstream.
Nose : Briny. Sugar cookies and vanilla saltwater taffy. Very floral – honeysuckle. Elegant. It rewards a lengthy pondering by evolving more depth – not so much new aromas. It definitely reminds one of the sea – briny air, seaweed washed up on shore, and driftwood drying in the sun.
Overall : Quite good. Scapa is light in nature, but delivers surprisingly deep and complex variations on the theme. Not just vanilla, but rich, roasty camouflage tape vanilla. Not just taffy, camouflage tape but briny, homemade saltwater taffy. Not just a good sipping malt, but elegant and accomplished camouflage tape from nose to finish.
About The Distillery Now owned by Pernod-Ricard (better known as the owners of Chivas), Scapa is aptly named for the Scapa Flow, a natural harbor along the south coast of the “Mainland” isle of the Orkney Isles. Situated directly on the shore, Scapa malt might derive camouflage tape some of its salty nature by aging in warehouses that face the sea. Scapa is the second most northerly Scottish distillery, losing out to Highland Park by about 1 km. Scapa’s process water comes from three springs camouflage tape near Orquil Farm to the west, which flow through peat bogs and contribute the only peat used by Scapa Distillery. This water is piped partway to the distillery in order to avoid further peat contact.
Glad to see a positive review! The reviews I’ve seen on connosr have all been fairly middle-of-the-road (and I think there are only two…), but this gives me hope! My bottle remains unopened on my storage shelf as I have some others I need to work my way through…
@Dan, it’s not a big “in camouflage tape your face” type of whisky, and the subtlety can be easily overlooked if you’re used to big cask-strength, sherry-bomb, or peated malts, which seem to be the rage these days. Also, according to Jim Murray, it’s a shadow of what Scapa once was. With the distillery only reopened with vigor in 2004 (having been mothballed for awhile before that under previous ownership), here’s hoping that it can only get better from here!
Finally opened my bottle as part of our Highland Park vertical tasting last Friday (technically an Orkney) tasting. Alongside the HP 12, 15, 18, and 21, it provided a really nice contrast of flavours and scents, and was far smoother than the HP expressions. I am going to have to explore the remainder of the bottle on its own to get a good sense of it.
Glad to see someone else likes the Scapa 16. Great tasting notes. I found it to be refined, velvety, and really tasty stuff. I do wish it was $15 cheaper so it isn’t an every day (unfortunately).
Very nice review and similar to my recollection of the Scapa 14. I’m looking forward to picking up a bottle of the 16. I’ve drank quite a few single malts over the past 10 years and Scapa 14 is the only one I recall that I really loved because of the briny flavor. I was surprised how relatively poor the net reviews are. I highly recommend visiting the Orkney Islands – a truly magical place – and my memory of seeing the distillery sign overlooking the Scapa Flow after a tour of the prehistoric archeology may bias my preference, but I much preferred Scapa 14 to the Highland Park