Scapa

Scapa is the second most northerly distillery in Scotland. It stands half a mile from Highland Park in the Orkney Islands. The distillery overlooks the picturesque natural harbour, Scapa Flow, on the island known as Mainland.

Scapa was originally established in 1885. Today it is owned by Pernod Ricard and forms part of their Chivas Brothers portfolio.

Scapa is a creamy, honeyed single malt Scotch whisky with tropical fruit notes and gentle spice.

The distillery is capable of producing 1 million litres of spirit in a year.

The fermentation process lasts up to 70 hours in order to encourage fruity flavours in the wash.

There are two pot stills. The wash still is a modified Lomond still.

Lomond stills have moveable copper plates inside their cylindrical necks. These plates can be adjusted to alter the flavour of the spirit. At Scapa, the plates have been removed so that it works more like a conventional still, albeit with lots of copper contact.

The still is also fitted with a purifier pipe which encourages reflux and adds oiliness to the new make.

Scapa is predominantly matured in American oak refill hogsheads with some first fill Bourbon whiskey barrels. However, the Distillery Reserve Collection has featured malts matured in sherry butts.

There are three warehouses on site. Despite their proximity to the sea, distillers have noticed no impact on the spirit from the salty air.

The current core range consists of two bottlings - Skiren and Glansa. Both are no-age-statement single malts.

Scapa was established in 1885 by John Townsend, a blender from Glasgow. In 1919, the distillery suffered severe damage in a fire. Only the quick reactions of the Royal Navy men, stationed in the Flow, prevented a catastrophe.

Townsend ran the distillery as General Manager until the business was liquidated in 1934. Production resumed in 1936 under new ownership. Bloch Brothers Ltd also owned the Glen Scotia and Glengyle distilleries in Campbeltown.

Bloch Brothers ran Scapa until it was taken over by Hiram Walker in 1954. The new Canadian owners installed a Lomond still to give greater flexibility in the creative process.

Hiram Walker was later taken over by Allied Distillers. Despite being modernised in the late ‘70s, Scapa was mothballed in 1994. A gradual return to production began in 1997. Then, in 2005, the parent company was bought by Pernod Ricard.

An extensive refurbishment saw production halted again in 2005. Upgrades allowed the distillery to welcome visitors for the first time. Appointments for tours and tastings can now be booked in advance.

Scapa has mainly supplied spirits for the blended Scotch industry. However, 12 and 14-year-old single malt expressions were released in the ‘00s. In 2008, the standard release was changed to a 16-year-old malt. This was later replaced in 2015 by the current range.

Although the official range is small, Pernod Ricard has made single cask expressions from 10 to 26 years old available as part of their Distillery Reserve Collection. Independent bottlings also pop up from time to time. In 2020, a range of rare bottlings under the name of Scapa Single Cask Vintage Edition with three bottlings 1977, 1979 and 1990 was launched.