Tasting Scapa Distillery

I have been looking forward to this tasting for a while, as I thought both the standard 14yo and the bit more recent 16yo was good, but it seemed to lack just a bit of edge, if you know what I mean? Nice and gentle they were, and made it hard for me to discover something that would fit to describe a distillery character, so perhaps this can help me. As you can spot there are 4 older G&M bottlings in this session, the three old flat ones being all bottled at a nice high strength of 57%abv. Of course the Kirkwall whisky is from another Orkney distillery so that one will have to wait for another tasting.



Scapa NAS 1979 40% Gordon & Macphail

This one has the color of E's, golden all the way. It smells orange peel and spirity notes, a young spirit for sure. Some coastal notes, hints of peat smoke, briny, actually a very nice one, once it has been allowed to breath enough. The taste is very zesty, orange, melons, grape fruit, kiwi, green grapes, sweet, none of the spiritiness that I feared from the nosing. Some leather and tobacco as well. The finish is once agin on citric fruits. Most of all, this is a fresh and fruity coastal whisky, that I think could be a perfect starter to any seafood spread.

Great stuff, and not that expensive, if you wanna try a good Scapa: 6.5


Scapa 24yo 1965-1990 50.1% Cadenhead's

I think that such old vintages of Scapa are extremely hard to find, and maybe far from as glamorous as older Macallans or Springbanks or whatever, it surely makes for an interesting whisky, for comparisons sake, to new styles from Scapa. I already found the 1979 better than the most recent standard OB's. I'd lie if I said I wasn't thrilled abour this one, but I will still try to stay objective. The oldest both in vintage and age from this distillery that I've had so far... enough about that! The color has a nice orange hue and is full of sediments, cask sediments I suppose. I have also found that in a couple other older bottlings from Cadenhead's, both 70cl and miniatures. Perhaps they did the Raw Cask before Blackadder then? It smells light and spirity at first, needs some time to open up. It's hard to say if it's a mix of peat, coastal character, salt and spiritiness, or just the last three of them. Could it be that Scapa is (or was) a naturally smoky single malt? Extremely meaty and coastal after a while, roast and salt. Old Taliskers and some Ardbegs are the few I've found this profile in from before. Kind of reminds me of the Ardbeg Uigeadail. The taste is much simpler, some peppery notes, a bit of honey, green paprika, mashed potatoes, peat (now I'm sure), cloves, onions, raspberries, again immensely fruity. Oh yes, and cigars. A bit like the end of the cigar, prickling on the tongue.

No absolute winner, but unique for a Scapa I think, a discovery malt: 8


Scapa 8yo 57% Gordon & Macphail (Black/White Label, golden cap)

Why all these miniatures? Well, a good question indeed... The reason is that there are so many whiskies from so many distilleries out there that if I were to buy all the whiskies I've tried in full 70cl bottles I'd probably be a very poor man with a liver failure. Enough about that, let's try these miniatures. Bronze color. It smells rich and sherried, sun-dried tomatoes, berry fruits, leather, malt syrup, honey corn, smoke, sherry, dark chocolate, how good is this? I just hope it delivers on the palate as well. The taste is rich and creamy, all on smooth oloroso sherry, butter, red paprika, salt, cinnamon, apple vinegar, camphor, cloves, juniper berries, absolutely one of the nicest drams I ever had thus far. Why did G&M stop bottling these 57% and turn to Cask Strengths? Oh, I surely can name a couple of good reasons, but some of these older 57%'s are amazing.

A great whisky that lacks a good reputation that would make it unaffordable (relief): 9


Scapa 8yo 57% Gordon & Macphail (U.S. version, red cap)

One that has the cap sealed with wax, very clever, I think many more should do that, makes the whisky stay alive for much longer. The color of this one is the same golden notes that I found in the G&M '79. It smells spirity, sweet, sweet tea, peppery, more bourbon notes, some withdrawn vanilla and hints of licorice. burnt rubbe, spearmint, tarry, peaty, after a while it develops into a more rustic coastal profile. sea breeze, salt, smoked salmon, dried fish, a beauty. The taste is peppery, smoky, lime rind, vanilla and cream liqueur. The finish on the other end leaves a bit to be desired, some hints of cheap gin and parsley (I do not like parsley). But all in all it is a nice dram that perhaps is more for the ones that like the extremes of Laphroaig than the Glenfarclas Family Cask sippers.

Great bourbon-matured whisky at first, but ending on a bitter note: 6.5


Scapa 8yo 57% Gordon & Macphail (Ship Label)

I must say, so far this tasting has been nothing but spectacular, and G&M has really done their work in selecting some great casks. Of course, so has Cadenhead's, but now its time for the last bottle in this positive session from a not that recognized distillery. Old Scapa's anyone? Me me me me me me!!! From now on that is. I did not know much about this whisky before this tasting as I find the more recent bottlings tend to have a less coastal profile, and are vatted out of proportions. I know there are always a couple bad casks that needs to be "vatted up" within each distillery, but I am one of those that would easily pay 10 quid or more extra to receive something like that taste similar to something close to the best ones in this session, instead of the 14yo and the 16yo standard OB's. So why not create a differ between the vattings that are of great quality and those that are lesser quality, and sell those at lesser quality for a very cheap price. A bit like Ardbeg has done with their Uigeadails and Corryvreckans which holds the best stock as opposed to the 10yo which is getting a worse reputation by the year amongst malt-snobs but is still sold in extreme numbers as the average whisky drinker is still very much price-oriented. Anyway, lets taste the whisky then. Same bronze color as one the black/white label). Smells rich and thick, extreme sherry, cinnamon, oil, dark chocolate, honey, waxy, herbal, some thyme, mint, barbecue smoke, cigars, mustard, extremely good. The taste is thick and sweet, but mostly herbal and phenolic. Extremely herbal, like eating a handful of dried herbs-aix-provence (or whatever) straight from the bag. Concentrated on herbs and dryness(phenols). I hope some water will help. With water added it turns more bitter, some rubbery notes and biscuity flavors, butter comes to mind.

The let-down in this session so far, and it still keeps a respectable score: 4.5



Next tasting: Mortlach Distillery