When most drinkers think of Orkney, they think of Highland Park. Highland Park is quite old, dating back to 1798, it has been fairly consistently available as a single malt since single malts became a thing at all, it has been intermittently beloved by both professional whisky critics and malt aficionados, and it spent most of the 2010s and early 2020s leaning strongly into the Norse heritage of Orkney with an array of Viking-themed bottlings that were…well, distinctive.

In addition to some plans for new distilleries, Orkney has another distillery of long standing, Scapa, which lies just a mile or so to the southwest from Highland Park. 

Scapa was founded in 1885; at its founding, in addition to Highland Park, there was another distillery on Orkney, Stromness, however that plant is long gone. Scapa was built by the blending house of Macfarlane & Townsend. A fire damaged the distillery in 1919; it was rebuilt, but production was spotty during the early to mid-20th century. Hiram Walker purchased the distillery in 1956 and rebuilt it three years later, adding a Lomond still. A succession of mergers brought Scapa first to Allied and thence to Pernod-Ricard, in whose stable it remains.

Production has continued to be a little spotty, especially through the 1990s and early 2000s, and it seemed the distillery might close permanently, however it underwent another extensive refurbishment, and the ownership has made sporadic efforts to promote it as a 2nd or 3rd tier malt brand, with an official 14 year old appearing in the 2000s, followed by a rebranded 16 year old in the 2010s along with a couple of no age statement expressions, most at the dreaded bare minimum of 40% abv. Recently, Pernod actually launched what might be described as an actual range, with 10, 16 and 21 year old single malts, all at reasonable strength and all relatively widely available. 

I have an unopened bottle of the new 16 year old whisky, but the expressions reviewed here are the long-discontinued 14 year old and an older version of the 16, which has likewise been extinct for a while. The old 14 was adorned with a lighthouse, a tribute to Scapa’s coastal location; despite its low abv, it was a charmingly honeyed whisky of considerable appeal. Its replacement, the equally mild 16 year old, features stylish graphic design with gentle shades of blue and grey and a stylized sailboat, again referencing the distillery’s location. The whisky in the bottle is a rather more drab affair, a significant step down despite apparently improved stats.

Scapa 14 Y.O. (2000s bottling), 40% abv

Character: Honeyed, fruity and malty.

Score: 88/100

Scapa 14, 40% abv

Bottling Information:

Expression: 14 year old

Bottler: Proprietor

Range: Core

Bottle Code: LKRV 4 72G 13:57

Presentation: Unspecified

Details: An ancient core bottling from the early aughts.

Price: Paid around $40; any remaining bottles at auction probably go for hundreds.

Availability: Amazing, The Whisky Exchange actually still carries it, albeit at an outrageous price. You might luck into it for less at auction. Not worth more than around $100, I’d say, and even that’s a stretch, although it was a steal for the original price tag.

Tasting notes:

Nose: Strong honey notes, a hint of burnt sugar; vague undertone of rubber; hint of meat smoke.

Body: Medium, mouth-coating.

Palate: Strong clover honey; pleasant woody notes; just a hint of malt; heather.

Finish: Some tanginess, still sweet; tobacco.

Score: 88/100

Who should buy it?: If you’re lucky enough to find this for anywhere close to retail price (so, $60 or so), buy it (and let me know where you found it!). Any whisky lover should get some enjoyment, here. For realistic prices? Skip on down.

Overall thoughts: A honeyish gem from Scapa, it’s a shame they didn’t keep this on the market.

Scapa 16, 40% abv

Character: Grassy and herbal with some tropical fruit.

Score: 62/100

Scapa 16, 40% abv

Bottling Information:

Expression: 16 year old (old)

Bottler: Proprietor

Range: Core

Bottle Code: LKRF1410 108 10:30

Presentation: Unspecified

Details: The core range replacement for the 14, it appeared in the later aughts or early teens. 

Price: Paid $60 or so; any still left will cost you a pretty penny.Availability: Once again, if you hate your money, The Whisky Exchange will be happy to help you unburden yourself; outside there, probably auction only.

Tasting notes:

Nose: Grassy, mellow and honeyed. Mildly herbal–fresh thyme. Underneath, citrus fruit with ruby red grapefruit to the fore. Warm and appealing, becoming ever more honeyed with a note of fresh pancakes. A slight chemical tang in the mix.

Body: Lightish, crisp.

Palate: Gentle and extremely honeyed, with traces of dried grass and sage. There’s a mild tropical fruit undertone–mellon, mostly cantaloupe. Light wax. Very appealing but completely straightforward.

Finish: Longer than you might expect, but mostly a gently fading copy of the palate.

Score: 62/100

Who should buy it?: Quite honestly? No one. Even at the original retail price, I would have passed on another bottle of this (this is the rare single malt that I actually use for cooking), and paying current prices for this rather dull malt would be a total waste of money.

Overall thoughts: An object lesson in the maxim that older isn’t necessarily better. A pleasant, but ultimately quite dull, whisky not helped by the bare-minimum abv and chillfiltration. Fingers crossed that the new 16 with its boosted alcohol content will be an improvement.

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