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A Look Inside A Scotch Whisky Distillery
I must admit that despite my name I've never been much into whiskey. Rum? Yes. Beer? Yes. Wine? Yes. Absinthe? Yes. Mead? Oh yes! But whiskey has never really been on my radar.A taste of 25-year-old Scapa whiskey changed all that.
Scapa prides itself as being the second northernmost Scotch whisky distillery in the world. Highland Park Distillery beats it by less than a mile. There are more northern whiskey distilleries in Scandinavia, but of course those aren't Scotch whisky distilleries.
The Scapa distillery was founded in 1885 and sits on the southern shore of Mainland Orkney. I met with Ian Logan, International Brand Ambassador for Chivas Brothers, to take a look around this distillery that's otherwise closed to the public.
As we entered, Logan explained that Scapa is a small operation that produces 120,000 liters of single malt whisky a year. I thought that sounded like a lot but my guide simply shrugged.
"A major distillery will do that in two weeks," he said.
Scapa only has three employees who work equipment that's a mix of the old and new along with a few museum pieces. The mill, for example, is 75 years old and was built by a company that no longer exists. Their still is a Lomond still from the 1930s and the only one still in operation. This equipment works just fine for a small distillery like Scapa so there's no reason to change it.
"A distillery is all about consistency," Logan explained.
After the sifting and milling, a combination of local spring water, sugar, and starch is poured into the mash as it's slowly turned. Two more infusions of water follow. Fermentation takes 135 hours and then it's sent to the Lomond still to be distilled.
Gallery: Scapa Distillery
After the whisky cools, it's put into 190 liter casks on site.
"Not many places fill their own casks these days. Most send it to a central point," Logan said.
The casks are all American white oak, which lends a vanilla flavor. As Logan took me around the rows of casks in their warehouse, I noticed most of them were stamped "Jack Daniels." According to U.S. law, barrels may only be used once. They are then sold to the UK where they're reused. Used casks are actually better for Scapa's purposes because that first use gets rid of the stronger flavors and later uses give a mellower whisky.
Casks are reused three times for single malt whisky after coming from the U.S., and then are used for blends.
"It's a terrible analogy but a cask is like a tea bag. The more you use it the less you get from it!" Logan joked.
Logan then sat me down to try their 16-year-old and 25-year-old samples. I lack the vocabulary of the connoisseur, so let me just say that I found both to be mellow, smooth and rich with a velvety texture. I could certainly taste the vanilla that comes from the American oak, along with hints of other flavors I couldn't quite put my finger on. Logan offered me some water to mix with it but I found this diluted the delicate flavor. This newbie drinks his whisky straight.
If you can't find Scapa at your local liquor store, you can order it from many online retailers and also find it as one of the elements of the popular Ballantine blend.
Don't miss the rest of my series "Exploring Orkney: Scotland's Rugged Northern Isles."
Coming up next: "My First Experience Driving On The Left Side Of The Road!"
"Not many places fill their own casks these days. Most send it to a central point," Logan said.
The casks are all American white oak, which lends a vanilla flavor. As Logan took me around the rows of casks in their warehouse, I noticed most of them were stamped "Jack Daniels." According to U.S. law, barrels may only be used once. They are then sold to the UK where they're reused. Used casks are actually better for Scapa's purposes because that first use gets rid of the stronger flavors and later uses give a mellower whisky.
Casks are reused three times for single malt whisky after coming from the U.S., and then are used for blends.
"It's a terrible analogy but a cask is like a tea bag. The more you use it the less you get from it!" Logan joked.
Logan then sat me down to try their 16-year-old and 25-year-old samples. I lack the vocabulary of the connoisseur, so let me just say that I found both to be mellow, smooth and rich with a velvety texture. I could certainly taste the vanilla that comes from the American oak, along with hints of other flavors I couldn't quite put my finger on. Logan offered me some water to mix with it but I found this diluted the delicate flavor. This newbie drinks his whisky straight.
If you can't find Scapa at your local liquor store, you can order it from many online retailers and also find it as one of the elements of the popular Ballantine blend.
Don't miss the rest of my series "Exploring Orkney: Scotland's Rugged Northern Isles."
Coming up next: "My First Experience Driving On The Left Side Of The Road!"
Filed under: Food and Drink, Europe, United Kingdom
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dale Dorsey Aug 1st 2012 4:37PM
"After the sifting and milling, a combination of local spring water, sugar, and starch is poured into the mash as it's slowly turned."
Completely wrong. Scotch malt whisky may only be made from malted barley, water and yeast. The sugar is extracted from the milled malted barley, which is the starch, by adding hot water and letting the mixture, or mash, steep. Once separating the solids from the mash the distiller is left with what is called worts. The worts contain the sugars extracted from the malted barley. The worts are then transferred to a washback (tank) for fermentation. This is where the yeast is added, which converts the maltose sugar to alcohol. The resulting liquid is essentially a flat beer which is then distilled to become spirit. It cannot be called whisky until it has aged in oak barrels three years.
This may seem nit-picky but it is of paramount importance to what Scotch malt whisky is. The suggestion of adding sugar and starch is completely false and show the author doesn't have a full grasp of the process.
This correction needs be noted because it's articles like this that spread very poor information to consumers.
Dale
CWASF.org
Sean McLachlan Aug 1st 2012 4:40PM
Well, that's how they explained it to me at the distillery. Perhaps they weren't entirely clear, or perhaps I wasn't hearing correctly, but I do know that both my guide and myself acted politely and without arrogance when dealing with strangers in public forum.
Dale Dorsey Aug 2nd 2012 4:02AM
Sorry to ruffle your feathers, but I was not responding with arrogance rather with accurate information. It would serve you well to research your topic prior to publishing or having someone proof read for technical accuracy if you're writing on a topic with which you have very basic information. I do appreciate that you wrote on Scapa because I am a fan of articles about the small and excellent brands and products outside of the major brands most people know.