Scapa Skiren

Stop number 99 on the SDT is Scapa. The “Other Orkney distillery”, as many call it, is the only other distillery to inhabit the Orkney Islands with its much more famous neighbor...Highland Park. They too embrace their Norse heritage. Skiren is a Nordic word meaning “glittering bright skies”. Bottled at 40% ABV and is chill filtered and has colorant added making it a golden amber. Skiren is matured exclusively in first fill American oak casks The nose is intensely fruity. Tangerines, apples, pears, honeydew, strawberries and banana. Sweet vanilla cream, cinnamon and toffee. Perfumes with some light floral notes. Far off bourbon notes, rich oak, maple and coffee with a touch of brown sugar. The first fill bourbon casks really work wonders here. The palate is light a fruity. Tangerines, strawberries, pears, artificial watermelon flavor, pineapple, coconut, papaya and banana. Yes a fruit basket’s worth of flavor. The oak flavors come in after a while with caramel, syrupy sweetness, cinnamon and nutmeg. A delicious dram. A light bodied mouthfeel that is lightly oily and mouth coating. Still enough to carry all those fruity notes though. The finish is medium short unfortunately. I wish it would have lasted longer. It’s sweet and fruity. This was a complete surprise as I did not expect such a sweet and fruity whisky to come from Orkney. One to relax with and enjoy with friends. I would not call this a noob scotch as it’s got plenty of qualities the connoisseur would appreciate, but is friendly enough for the uninitiated in the ways of the water of life. Now, I think that being at 40% hurts this whisky, but not as much as others. Bumping the strength to 43% would probably do wonder, but I think making the jump to 46% might change the character too much and it would not be the same fruity wonder. It’s not exactly cheap for a NAS at $80 or so, but it is one that I would consider purchasing. A solid 4 and a thanks to @Scott_E for the sample. Cheers

Still working through my notes from last month's trip to Scotland; I tried this dram at Whiski Rooms in Edinburgh. For a long time, the only distillery of note on the isle of Orkney was the legendary Highland Park. Scapa is now giving it a go, making whisky on one of the most remote and northern islands in Scotland. Unlike Highland Park, Scapa doesn't seem to peat their whisky at all, which results in a slightly more traditional Highland style of single malt. There's plenty of honey and orchard fruit here, along with an underlying nuttiness that gives this a thicker mouthfeel than I'd expect for a 40% whisky. It's OK, nothing to write home about (although I suppose that's exactly what I'm doing).