
October 19, 2026

The Time Warp Sessions,
today Scapa some forty years apart

We are delighted to see Pernod giving Scapa more of the attention it deserves, although there do not seem to be any ‘small batch’ or ‘single cask’ releases yet, unless we haven’t noticed them. In any case, the first official trio, 10, 16 and 21, is rather lovely, and we shall begin with a more recent bottling of that very 21-year-old.

Scapa 21 yo (52.9%, OB, American oak, +/-2026)

Scapa 21 yo (52.9%, OB, American oak, +/-2026)
WF 88 for the first version, released in 2024. You see, we are keeping tabs… Colour: light gold. Nose: pure juice from apples grown by the sea, Normandy or Brittany style. It is extremely simple and extremely lovely. Notes of fresh malt and orange cake emerge next, followed by earl grey tea and hints of orange butter, in the style of Martín Berasategui. Make of that what you will. Mouth: how good is this! Saline, coastal, admirably bitter, with a myriad of plants from both land and sea. Fresh bitter orange then takes charge. Finish: a lovely length, with an even saltier profile and little touches of mustard and pepper. Comments: this version seems tauter and less soft and fruity than last time. We could be mistaken, but either way, we love it.
SGP:561 - 89 points.

Enough to sow a little doubt about all those excellent ‘Secret Orkney’ bottlings flooding the market. What if some were actually Scapa?

Scapa 24 yo 1965/1990 (49.6% Cadenhead)

Scapa 24 yo 1965/1990 (49.6% Cadenhead)
This is a ‘special individual cask bottling’, you understand. Now we still imagine this could be the same spirit as the legendary Moon Import version, although nothing is certain. Anyway, onwards… Colour: light gold. Nose: let us say a more phenolic and maritime composition than modern Scapas, with cider, brake fluid, paraffin and Japanese wakame seaweed. Yet what is striking is that we are actually not all that far from the contemporary 21-year-old. Wafts of menthol cigarettes, Dunhill’s or Kool, according to your preference. Mouth: it shuffles its feet a little, with fairly pronounced OBE that seems to have dried the whole thing out a wee bit. Salted cardboard, green walnuts, Maggi, old pipe tobacco… Finish: fairly long but saltier and more bitter. A slight light-struck flavour. Comments: this bottle has probably seen better days, but it remains moving and, when all is said and done, excellent. 1965, just imagine!
SGP:352 - 85 points.

(With thanks to the Absolutely Nuts)

Check the index of all Scapa we've tasted

The Time Warp Sessions, today Scapa some forty years apart

The Time Warp Sessions,
today Scapa some forty years apart