Orkney is a totally different experience. To experience the wind and see the barren, treeless landscape are a must! It’s a bit of a drive and a ferry ride, but there are incredible non-whisky field trips as well.

We were fortunate to get a tour of Scapa thanks to our friend Ian of Chivas Brothers who met us there to show us around.  Scapa is not open to visitors and it is rare to see inside.  (Stills on left.) There has been some modernization but it remains a very traditional distillery.  The Scapa 16 YO reflects a movement from the 12 and 14 YO in an attempt to produce a standard product while they build up more stocks.  The distillery was mothballed from 1997 to 2004 and no whisky was being produced.  It will take till 2014 to see significant stocks of 10 YO whisky again. 

Highland Park is always a pleasure to visit.  They have the largest traditional floor maltings of any distillery (peat-fired kiln on left) and Edrington Group clearly wants to move Highland Park into a top selling single malt.  Gerry Tosh gave us the tour and he believes peat type and levels and quality of casks are the drivers for what you finally taste in the whisky.  While lots of people focus on water source, shape of the stills, barley and so forth, Gerry sees that those make up a very small part of the overall distinctiveness of the whisky.  Met a number of the key marketing staff during the visit and expect to see aggressive promotion of Highland Park and new expressions in the future.  They will maintain true to their core 12 and 18 YO, but you will see other vintages as well.  – B. J. Reed

This single cask bottling of Scapa is a beauty! Brilliant gold color. Clean and fresh on the nose and palate, with complex bright fruit (peach, tangerine, Golden Delicious apple, honeydew melon, pineapple), spice (cinnamon, vanilla, subtle cocoa), appetizing brine, and beach pebbles, all on a bed of creamy, squeaky clean honeyed malt. Dynamic, appetizing, briny, dried spice finish. A delicious, superbly balanced whisky that makes a great aperitif, but I could drink this any time. (Bottled exclusively for D&M Aficionado’s Club.)

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 92