🥃 Scapa
Distillery and single malt brand on Mainland, Orkney, founded in 1885; two stills, one of the Lomond style; owned by Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard).
Scapa is a distillery and single malt Scotch whisky brand on Mainland, the main island of the Orkney archipelago, near Kirkwall on the shore of Scapa Flow. It opened in 1885 and has only two stills, one of them unusual, in the Lomond style. Today the distillery belongs to Chivas Brothers, a division of Pernod Ricard.
History. According to Whiskypedia, the distillery was opened by Macfarlane & Townsend and built by the Glasgow blender John Townsend. A fire damaged it in 1919 and it was rebuilt. Production stopped in 1934 and resumed in 1936; from 1954 to 1987 the owner was Hiram Walker. In 1994 the distillery was mothballed, with renovation planned from 2004. According to Difford's Guide, Pernod Ricard took it over in July 2005.
How it is made. The wash still is Lomond-shaped with a capacity of 16,500 litres; these were developed in the late 1950s, this one was installed in 1959, and the movable copper plates in its neck were later removed. The spirit still is straight-sided, at 12,284 litres. The water comes from Lingro Burn, the malt is unpeated, fermentation takes 52 to 70 hours, and capacity is 1 million litres of pure alcohol a year.
Range. The main releases are Skiren and Glansa, both without an age statement; Difford's Guide calls Glansa the peated version. Whiskypedia classes Scapa as an Island malt and notes that the former 14-year-old was replaced by a 16-year-old after Pernod Ricard bought it.
Why this matters to you. There is no single "smokiness" for all of Orkney: Scapa is unpeated at its core, and peat appears only in particular versions. The age on the label is the age of the youngest whisky. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.
Facts
| Year founded | 1885, Macfarlane & Townsend (John Townsend), Mainland, Orkney |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2890) (Single Malt Scotch Whisky) |
| EU category | 2 — whisky (whisky/whiskey) |
| Raw material | unpeated barley malt (Simpsons); water from Lingro Burn |
| Distillation method | twice, 2 copper stills: a Lomond-style wash still (16,500 l) and a straight spirit still (12,284 l); 1 million litres of alcohol a year |
| Minimum maturation | at least 3 years in oak by law; Skiren and Glansa carry no age statement |
| Alcohol (% vol.) | at least 40% ABV by law |
What it includes
How it connects to Spirits
Links
- Previous step
- 🥃 Pernod Ricard
- Packed in
- 🍷 Oak barrel
- Made from
- 🥃 Barley and malt in whisky
- What it contains
- 🧪 Water, 🍷 Ethanol
- What it affects
- 🍷 Alcohol and health, 🍷 Drunk driving
- Traditions
- 🧑🤝🧑 British
- Part of
- 🥃 Whisky, 🥃 Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Scotch Whisky
- Related to
- 🌍 Western Europe, 🥃 Island whisky
- Similar and different
- 🥃 Peated whisky, 🥃 Chivas Regal, 🥃 Dalwhinnie, 🥃 Dalwhinnie, 🥃 Springbank, 🥃 Springbank, 🥃 Highland Park
Frequently asked questions
Is Scapa really a peated whisky?
Not at its core. Whiskypedia writes of unpeated malt, and Difford's Guide calls only the Glansa version peated.
What does a Lomond-style still mean?
This design appeared in the late 1950s to produce different flavour profiles from a single still. Scapa installed one in 1959 and later removed its plates.
Who owns Scapa?
Chivas Brothers, a division of Pernod Ricard, since 2005. Before that the distillery belonged to Allied Domecq.
When was the distillery closed?
It was mothballed in 1994, and at the end of 2004 and into 2005 it was renovated and restarted.
Where does the water come from?
From the Lingro Burn stream on Orkney.
What to read next
- 🍷 Alcohol and health — Alcohol in any drink is harmful in large amounts, and the risks grow with the quantity.
- 🍷 Ethanol — The alcohol formed during fermentation that makes you drunk.
- 🍷 Oak barrel — A wooden barrel of oak staves in which wine matures and breathes.
- 🌍 Western Europe — France, the Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg: a mild, moist climate, pastures and hundreds of cheeses such as Roquefort, Camembert, Gouda and Cheddar.
- 🧑🤝🧑 British — People of Great Britain; their protected West Country Cheddar matures for at least 9 months, and tea is drunk with milk.
Similar
🥃 Glengyle · 🥃 Abhainn Dearg · 🥃 Allt-a-Bhainne · 🥃 Knockdhu · 🥃 Black & White · 🥃 Tobermory
⚠️ Spirit drinks contain alcohol and are for adults only. Alcohol harms health. Do not drink during pregnancy or before driving; check the label for ingredients and possible allergens.
Sources
- The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2890), reg. 3: definition and categories of Scotch Whisky (Scotland, oak up to 700 l, min. 3 years, min. 40 % ABV)
- Scotchwhisky.com (Whiskypedia): Scapa (1885, Macfarlane & Townsend, Lomond wash still, Lingro Burn, 1 mlpa, owners, Skiren and Glansa)
- Difford's Guide: Scapa Distillery, history (1885, mothballed 1994, refurbishment from 2004, Pernod Ricard July 2005, Skiren, Glansa)
- WHO/Europe: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (04.01.2023)