Scapa 8yo 40% OB Gordon & Macphail 70's
Scapa's rarely a favorite amongst IB's but I have had some pleasant experiences with both the 14yo and 16yo OB even if they never seem the biggest fin in the pond. I always thought there were 5cl in these little buggers, no wonder they were squeezed off the market. This one smells herbal and coastal, lots of dried herbs and sea salt along with some notes of mustard and oak influence. The taste is peppery, honey, rustic, marshmallows, winegum skittles and old dry tobacco. When the sweet sensation is over it turns peppery with some hints of leather, onion and cream on the finish.
More punch and power than the whisky produced by Scapa today: 6
Scapa 14yo 40% OB
Scapa has two OB's aged 14 and 16yo, and they're very similar tastewise as they don't difference them by adding peat or using particular casks or whatever. Smells sweet, light, a perfect standard malt, no flaws here. The 16yo had the smallest hint of sherry, and reminded me of the older versions o Highland Park 12yo. This one reminds me more of the recent. The taste is light and easy with some honey notes and a little coastal hints of salt and peat. Not a very exciting malt, one that you can drink on the rocks, with ice cream or however you like.
Easy, light and pleasant: 6
Scapa 16yo 40% OB
Scapa Ob's not been widely available on the international market for too many years, but G&M have been bottling some and I remember them as a bit bland. Smells spicy, oily, like glue, plastic and a bit rubbery. At this age it requires a lot of time, but give it about half an hour and it turns sweeter, lighter, more creamy on the nose. The taste is sweet, cereal, nuts, just plain good. Nothing wrong here, a delightful easy-going dram. It will suit everyone from beginner to experienced malt whisky drinker, but nevertheless it won't challenge many palates.
A perfect starters dram: 7.5
Scapa 10yo 1989-2000 43% Signatory Vintage cask#1903 btl.297/2450
Scapa is a very good malt, but one of them a bit too tame to be matured in bourbon only, as is the same with Glengoyne for instance. Anyway, that's a personal opinion, now let's see about this one. Smells vanilla, liquorice and spirity. The taste is very sweet, light, marshmallows and liquorice. It's enjoyable, and if you're a bourbon fanatic I guess you will love this. But for me, it's just a small drinkable parentheses in my book of malts.
Boring standard malt: 4
Scapa 9yo 1989-1998 43% Signatory Vintage cask#1893 btl.1488/2450
A bourbon-matured youngster. Scapa is a distillery which malt I rarely drink. Let's see. Smells a lot like vanilla, actually only vanilla and some liquorice. The taste is fresh and peppery at first, then turns spirity, grainy, like bad vodka. If I had this blind I'd never thought it was a whisky. The aftertaste has some vanilla notes, but that's about it, and it lasts for just some seconds. Give it water and it becomes just a bit more vanilla and approachable.
Not a good bottling, not at all: 2
Scapa 12yo 40% OB
The old version of the standard OB, it's now bottled at 14 years old I've heard. Never tried this Orkney malt, which I guess is easily overshadowed by the great Highland Park from same Island. It has a nice golden colour, a peppery and quite salty odor, very nice indeed. The taste is strong, almost fizzy, coffee, butter, mashed onion puree, very light-hearted and easily drinkable. The aftertaste is peppery with some much overripe oranges.
Not for the everyday whisky lover, but for some, surely a treasure: 5
Scapa NAS 1991-? 50% Just Miniatures
One bottled for Just Miniatures, which I guess is a club for miniature enthusiasts and collectors? Very very pale, can be young, but I doubt it, I'd say it's bourbon-matured without colouring. Very very strong odors, black pepper, lemon and herbs. The taste is at first amazingly sweet, much vanilla, seems to have come from an amazing bourboncask. Afterwards there's pepper, liquorice, cuban cigars, green tea and roquefort bacterials. No water in this one.
A very nice and special one: 7
Scapa NAS 1983-? 40% OB
After sticking to mostly highland/speyside malts lately I guess it's time to try something a bit more coastal. Scapa, one of the two Orkney malts, an older OB bottling, maybe a classic? Smells round, oaky, nutty, sharp blueberries. The taste is sort of one-dimensional, oaky and peppery, but turns a bit salty when given some time. It gets a bit spirity and a bit acidic? Not my favourite expression, but easily approachable tastewise.
A light Orkney malt: 4
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