Scapa 16 Year Old
24 Days of Christmas: Day 5!
0 676
Review by @SquidgyAsh
- Nose19
- Taste19
- Finish19
- Balance19
- Overall76
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My wife recently bought me the coolest calender ever made for me for Christmas.
A whisky calender!
24 different samples bottled by Master of Malt, covering a variety of styles, ages, strengths and countries.
When I saw it in my email I knew THAT'S what I wanted for Christmas so I sent my wife that email as a very subtle hint to her and she, being insanely observant and deep picked up on that hint.
Each calender is different, containing different samples in each of them. The only constant in each of calenders was a 50 year old Speyside whisky that Master of Malt had bottled.
I'd gone through Islays, Highlands, Lowlands, and Irish whiskies so far in my calender and today I was going to be tasting an Island whisky.
Even cooler it was an Island distillery that I'd never tried before.
Scapa!
Now this is the second furthest North distillery in Scotland, being just half a mile South of Highland Park. Another one of my favorite distilleries!
This was the 16 year old, so not quite entry level considering that they also produce a 14 year old.
Relaxing as I cook dinner I crack open the sample bottle and pour it's contents into the glencairn.
First off let's nose!
First thing that comes through is honeyed toffee, then it goes salty with hints of peat and fruit.
It's a nice nose, nothing super special, but not bad and it does make me eager to take a taste.
Which is the very thing that I shall do!
Starts sweet then it jumps to sea salt covered bananas.
Lots of bananas. Actually salty bananas are the strongest flavors that come through on this whisky. It tastes good, but sadly it's boring.
Finish is of a nice length with more and more bananas coming through, with just a hint of salt at the end.
Not a bad little whisky, however while it's not bad, it's boring, non complex.
And odds are I'm going to guess that a bottle of this would normally run around $120 AUS which is way too much for a nice, but boring 16 yr old whisky.
If you get a chance to taste it, go for it. I don't think you'll be upset, but spending more then $60-$70 AUS and you're sadly paying too much.
Find where to buy Scapa whisky
This one is $90 in Oregon. I'm curious. Will taste before I buy. You make some good points about why I should not buy. I have made some big mistakes in the past few months. The biggest: Highland Park 18 and Dalmore 15. Together, they cost about $200 USD. Both were putrid, bitter, and tasted worse than their 12 year counterparts. At any rate, thanks again for the tips about Scapa. I more cautious about what I buy now, although I must say that I've tasted some very good HP18 before. I got a dud of a bottle that really tastes like junk. As for the Dalmore, it seems overpowered by the fake caramel flavoring. I taste artificial sweetner/colorer more than the actual whisky.