Gordon & MacPhail Scapa 1987

Tasted in Whisky Magazine Issue 5 by Michael Jackson and Jim Murray.

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Tasting Notes

Michael Jackson Nose Leafy. Slightly sour, herbal note. Peat. Salt. Palate Lightly syrupy, nutty, salty. Finish Nutty, salty, very long. Appetising. Comment A complex, delicate, well-balanced vintage.

Jim Murray Nose Stunningly fresh and clean with grisity, grassy malt, a lovely thread of orange and honey and the very faintest echo of smoke. As mouth-watering as any nose could be. Palate Immediatel dry with a zesty fruitiness. Deep malty notes do water the mouth but the development seems arrested by a non-specific flat fruitiness. Finish Slightly spicy; rather lacking in complexity. Comment Gordon and MacPhail has been the purveyor of Scapa's excellent malt far longer than owners Allied, which was slow to wake up to its allure. However, this is not its finest bottling and lacks that lovely cocoa depth of yore.