Scapa 16 yo 1980 / 1996 Signatory #12085-86 43% vs Highland Park 27 yo 1984 / 2011 Whisky Agency 52.5%
Scapa 16 yo 1980 / 1996 Signatory #12085-86 43%
The ideal comparison would have been the 25yo 1980 special release but for the reasons that follow, this turns out to be a similar sort of whisky. Anyway it’s always worth trying some Scapa as it’s not exactly commonplace. I am reminded of the oddness of the 25yo with this thin cold sea air, dry heather and glue like hints which may or may not also be a pungent sort of pollen? It’s a rather anemic whisky overall, maybe some thin honey, oatcakes, some malt sugar, sea salt perhaps, and wet piers. Unfortunately almost instantly forgettable. 82 pts
Highland Park 27 yo 1984 / 2011 Whisky Agency 52.5%
Highland Park must the most variable whisky around. This one feels like it has come back from a determined afternoon tromp through dense fields, stained green by aromatic leafy sap leaking from a trail of broken stems. Sticky nectar from crushed wildflowers underfoot. Broken ferns, galbanum, honeydews. And perhaps the woodland wander was for wild herbs, because here they, in a satchel along with fresh compost and white mushrooms. Break for cardamom and fennel tea before returning, Slight smoky hints, perhaps a menthol cigarette earlier, and a lemon cough pastille to hide the guilty pleasure. 91 pts
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