Slainte-Mhath
Scapa Skiren
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
November 27, 2018 (edited December 19, 2018)
Orkney's second distillery is often overlooked for a reason: its small range of NAS expressions is poorly presented and shockingly expensive! Matured in first fill American oak, the nose of Scapa Skiren is gentle, creamy and citrusy with notes of pine needles, barley sugar and heather honey. Did you ever taste the Christmas tree? Resin and wood bitter flavors attack the palate with a dry kick, disrupted by hints of sweetness and Ricola cough drops. More bitterness, lemongrass and Earl Grey tea dominate the rather short finish. Back to Highland Park...
RATING: 3.0/5.0 stars ≙ 79 pts → AVERAGE
50.0
EUR
per
Bottle
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@Slainte-Mhath It's a real pity that Pernod Ricard don't do more with Scapa - it's a neglected distillerey that could do a lot more if it had the chance. The majority of Scapa spirit is aged for the minimum time and goes into a handful of bottom-shelf Chivas-controlled blends like 100 Pipers and Black Watch. The better, aged blending spirit goes into Ballantines.
@Slainte-Mhath I tried the old 16 and think it was just good, not great.
@Slainte-Mhath I have only tried the Gordon & MacPhail bottling which I liked. I agree that the price of the OBs is off-putting. Even UK supermarkets have it priced higher than the standard offerings from Balvenie, Talisker and Laphroaig for example.
@PBMichiganWolverine I think Scapa never targeted the mass market, and a lot of its stock might disappear in Pernod Ricard blends (Chivas?). The 14- and 16-year-old Scapa has a lot of fans, but the presentation of Scapa's range today is just sad. And so they remain in the shadow of Highland Park.
At some point, these type of distilleries that produce simply subpar malts have to either be merged with the big boys, or close.
Additional comment: I know that the distillery was closed for some years, so I do not blame Scapa for running out of aged stock. However, the way Pernod Ricard presents this Single Malt (40% ABV, colored and chill-filtered) does not justify the hefty price tag. I hope we will see a core range bottling with age statement returning in the future, as this distillery has certainly potential. For the time being, I recommend not to waste any money on their NAS expressions.