Scapa - Single Malt Orkney Islands Scotch Whisky

The Orkney Islands are windswept and remote, and home to many ancient remains. People have lived on the archipelago for more than 5000 years, and I've always wanted to visit the beautiful anchorage of Scapa Flow due to my interest in Vikings. Of course, Celtic and Norse warriors are one thing, but whenever I look at this lovely bottle I can also hear the World Heritage listed sites such as the neolithic Skara Brae and Barnhouse stone villages, and the Stones of Stenness, the voices of isolated crofters and others ancients hunting the sea for tusks. Before they bury me six feet under I want to see the tombs older than the pyramids, with their Viking graffiti, be terrified by the ghosts of Celtic nobles and walk into the mists of myth itself.

In the meantime though I'll settle for something much younger.

The Scapa distillery is near Kirkwall. This is on the island that Orcadians call "the mainland", one of only 17 islands that are inhabited out of an actual total of 70 or so. Aged for 12 years in clifftop warehouses overlooking Scapa Flow, when you sip this single malt you smell the islands and the sea. It is sweet and smooth, perfect for a cold evening or after a long bone weary day. There is a hint of vanilla and the aroma of heather and flowers. The oak is not overpowering, and when I close my eyes (for some reason I can never drink a good single malt without doing so) I can almost hear the oars of a Norse longship as the hint of the salt breezes reaches the after taste. Beannachd leat. It is the second most northern distillery in Scotland. Its neighbour is Highland Park.

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"dancin' around the whisky
dancin' around och aye!
hey ho, away we go
we'll dance and drink until we die"

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