North Sea Whisky

I’m way late with this one, I suspect everyone who’s in any way interested has already tried it.

I don’t have many reference points for Scapa, as independent releases are scarce and the standard line is poor. I do have some bottles from Chivas’ Distillery Reserve range waiting to be opened, and those tend to be well regarded. 

While this is a sample from the Thompson brothers, full bottles are still available from the Whisky Exchange for the initial release price of £185. They were discounted to £99 for a long time, let’s see if it’s worth picking up a bottle should that happen again.

Scapa 19-year-old, 2003 (Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange)

Rating: 88 points

Nose: Light, fruity, alcoholic. Narrow and slightly industrial character like a 90s Jura. Obviously a nice bourbon cask though, being warm, round and generally pleasant.

Baked apple, with a slightly sour green apple edge (old Jura again), cinnamon and golden-crusted baking. A nice if middle-of-the-road graininess. It benefits from quite a bit of water, opening up nicely to a waxier, more tropical nose. Ripe waxy mango, a bit of honey, and I can’t believe it – a bit of manure! It’s all very subtle, but I like it. Getting more and more floral while showing a beautiful salted caramel core.

Palate:  Lightweight, with a faint initial oiliness. The texture improves significantly with water. Yes, getting more waxy now, with a silky maltiness carrying through the palate, decorated with mango, greenish savoury grain and sea salt. Green apples again with purple florals. Carries a healthy surge of spice into the medium length finish. Salty, malty, green is what remains – very pleasant. The lovely salted butterscotch backbone from the nose runs through the palate as well.

Conclusion: Lovely, integrated, and subtle – well done Scapa! It’s a narrow distillate I think, but there’s a lot of movement and complexity around the edges. I like it – will get some if it’s on sale.