Scapa distillery opened in 1885 at the head of Scapa Bay in Orkney, two miles from Kirkwall.1,2,3 Its wash still is a Lomond still, which Scapa's own site calls the sole survivor of its style used for making whisky.4,5,6 It was mothballed in 1994, and full production started again in October 2005.1,5,7
Outstanding review score, 92 out of 100Outstanding92/100
A proper sherry bomb: thick and powerful, with intense dark fruit, spice, polished wood, chocolate and a long, warming finish.
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By Ruben
Producing, 1936–1994
Silent, 1994–2005
Producing, 2005–today
188519502000Today
Built on Scapa Bay
A ScotchWhisky.com feature names the founders as Robert Macfarlane, who had managed Highland Park, and Joseph Townsend; Whiskypedia calls Townsend John.1,2,3 Alfred Barnard's 1887 book described a malting floor and a kiln heated with peat.8 He also found four washbacks, a worm tub, an outside tank 30 feet long that the vapour passed through, and stills that were both heated by steam.8
Fire, closure and Bloch Brothers
In 1919 the Scapa Distillery Co took over the business, and a fire damaged the distillery that same year.1,5,9 Wikipedia says sailors of the Grand Fleet put it out with buckets of sea water; City AM credits the crew of a captured German destroyer.1,5,10 The company was wound up in 1934, and distilling stopped.5,9Bloch Brothers bought the distillery in 1936 and started production again.5,9 In 1943 Scapa asked the Eday Peat Company for another 120 tonnes of peat, perhaps as its last customer.11
Hiram Walker and the Lomond still
Canadian firm Hiram Walker & Sons Limited took over Bloch Bros, and Scapa with it, in 1954.1,3,5 A history by Moss and Hume, quoted by Canmore, dates the purchase to 1959.1,3,5 Hiram Walker rebuilt the distillery in 1959 and installed the Lomond still.3,4,5 Scapa's light malt went into Hiram Walker's blends, which were aimed mainly at the American market.3,4,5 In 1978 the distillery was refurbished again, and four more washbacks were added.
Mothballed and restored
Until it was mothballed in 1994, Scapa had been made almost entirely for the Ballantine's blend.1,5,7 From 1997, staff from nearby Highland Park made occasional runs, which City AM describes as eight weeks each summer.1,10 In 2004, facing closure, Allied Domecq began a £2.1 million rebuild and restoration.1,5,7Pernod Ricard bought Allied Domecq in 2005.1,5,9
Next: Mothballed and restored, Seven days a week, How Scapa is made
Sources
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In October 2014 the distillery moved to seven-day production with five staff, and fermentation was cut from 120 hours to 52-70 hours.12 In April 2015 it opened its first visitor centre, the first time in its 130-year history that the public could visit.1,5,6
How Scapa is made
Scapa uses unpeated malt, imported from the Scottish mainland.4,5,13 Scapa's own site says mashing water is piped from the nearby Orquil Springs; Wikipedia and Whiskypedia name the Lingro Burn.1,4,5 It has 8 steel washbacks, the tanks where the wash, or fermented beer, is made.5,7 Master distiller Mick Swanney told City AM that fermentation lasts 160 hours, one of the longest in the industry.10 He said they tried a shorter fermentation but could not recreate the flavour notes, so they stick to 160 hours.10 It has one wash still and one spirit still.1,5 A diesel fuelled steam boiler heats the stills, and shell and tube condensers turn the vapour back into spirit.5 Alistair Cunningham and Arthur Warren designed the Lomond still in 1955; its movable copper plates let one still make different styles of spirit, but Scapa's were removed.4,5,6 Scapa's site says the Lomond still's wider, taller neck gives a richer, fruitier new spirit.4,10 Swanney told City AM the still's shape gives more copper contact, which makes the spirit lighter.4,10 The distillery can make 1 million litres of alcohol a year.5
Outstanding review score, 92 out of 100