40°
Distillery : Scapa - Islands
1st Fill American Oak Casks
Original Bottling
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2017
Totally Unpeated
We'll never know what happened to the Scapa distillery. Owned by Pernod Ricard, it used to sell a highly acclaimed 16-year-old, but in 2015 the range was completely overhauled. The barley fermentation time was drastically reduced, production was increased, and they discontinued the 16-year-old in favour of two NAS, Skiren and Glansa. Here we have Skiren's 9th Batch, aged in first-fill Bourbon barrels, reduced to 40° and certainly chill-filtered with colouring.
Gravel and bitumen. It's quite greasy, chalky. Wind-beaten rock overlooking an austere beach. Fine sea salt. Green apple, not very ripe. Fresh iodine. Old plum. Smooth, fruity, a little pear juice dripping off. Oily on the palate, lemon peel, a few spices. Watery. Slatey. Mineral salts. Parmesan. Quite long and solid finish, but not entirely pleasant, the sea salt returning, foam, seaweed, with a hint of vanilla, seltzer, a vegetal touch, slight bitterness. Asparagus. The feeling of licking a pebble.
On Short,
I have to say that it's not very successful. The nose and palate lack character, and the finish is flawed. That said, it's almost not too bad. You can feel the potential, but it's unbalanced, a little too rough at times. It feels like it's been rushed through. A big waste in my opinion, because this distillery has a personality, that's for sure. But it is very poorly exploited. What's more, the bottle is expensive, fortunately I got it with a discount. Today, I'm not even sure I'd accept it if someone offered it to me.
Score : 81
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Everything But The Girl - Before Today
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