Scapa 19 year old 1989 Mackillop's Choice

I miss seeing Mackillop's Choice single cask bottlings perched atop a retailer's whisky shelves, with their simple brown labels with black and red text. Lorne Mackillop somehow got his mitts on six different 1989 Scapa casks, and even bottled one — today's whisky — for The States. It's another 43%abv from the other Orkney distillery...

Distillery: Scapa

Ownership: Pernod Ricard (via Chivas Brothers)

Region: Isle of Orkney

Bottler: Mackillop's Choice

Age: 19 years (1989 - 2008)

Maturation: ???

Outturn: ???

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Chillfiltered? ???

e150a? ???

(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose arrives more vividly than expected, full of apples, lemon juice, barley, and yeast up top; strawberry candy, watermelon Jolly Ranchers, and cantaloupe on the bottom.

Marshmallows, butterscotch, and lemon lollipops greet the palate first, followed by grapefruit pith and tart cherries. Dunnage and pencil shavings linger underneath.

It finishes tarter than the palate, with tart citrus and berries up front, and maraschino cherries behind.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Another pleasant, gentle drinker with very little oak intrusion. This one is more moreish than yesterday's G&M 10yo; more memorable, too. Again, there's no complexity in this Scapa, but it's hard to carp when the whisky is so soft and tasty. Now I'm getting interested in this distillery.

Availability - Sold out long ago
Pricing - ???
Rating - 85