In the shadow of the Highland Park distillery lies Scapa. Not so famous as its neighbour, this distillery produces one of my most favorite whiskies. The first bottle I tasted from Scapa was the 13yo, which was great, light, and fresh. The only drawback was its price tag. I was pleasantly surprised when I found its 14yo brother in my usual shop, but with a price tag that was 10 Euros cheaper.
What immediately hit me was the golden color : only one year more mature, this 14yo is much darker than its 13yo sister. Turns out this is not the only difference.
Let's skip the chitchat, won't we, and go straight to business :
The smell : floral, malty, fresh fruit, a gentle vanilla scent (though not too sweet)
The taste : malty again, quite some difference with the 13yo. Again quite fruity, mostly pear. Some complexity, vanilla, followed by dark chocolate. Spicy, with a strong sherry taste.
Conclusion : quite a difference from the gentle 13yo, even in such a degree, that judging from the taste & color, I almost would say this whisky must have aged in different kind of barrels than its younger sister. Whereas the 13 reminds me more of a gentle Speyside, this has the taste of a typical Highland whisky. But still, a magnificent taste, light, friendly, but with a surprising complexity.
Scapa rules, a stellar whisky.
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