Scapa is a distillery located on the Orkney isles very close to Kirkwall and overlooking the Scapa Flow. It was built in 1885 by a Glasgow based blender and his business partner. The distillery operated without major incidents until 1919 when it was destroyed by a fire. After the distillery was re-built it produced whisky until 1936 when it was sold to a Campbeltown based distiller.
The Campbeltown company sold Scapa once again in 1954. This time the distillery ended up in the hands of Canadian distillers Hiram Walker. Under their ownership a pair of Lomond stills were installed. The stills operated until 1979 and produced spirit that ended mostly in blends. By the time the Lomond stills were decommissioned, Scapa was under the control of Allied Distillers.
Scapa distillery was mothballed in 1994 and there were talks about demolishing it. For a while, distillery workers from nearby Highland Park distillery operated Scapa for a few months a year. In 2005, and after major refurbishments took place at Scapa, Pernod-Ricard became the owner. The packaging of the whisky was redesigned and a 16 year old whisky was released.
Scapa uses a modified Lomond still, clear wort and a medium-long fermentation period. This influences the character of the whisky and results in an oily and fruity palate with mineral notes.
