Scapa Distillery open to visitors now
Good news for all whisky friends planning a trip to the Isles of Orkney!
Chivas Brothers have announced that Scapa Distillery from now on will be open for visitors – it’s the first time ever in the 130 year old history of the distillery. Brian MacAulay, Distillery Manager at Scapa, took the opportunity to personally remove the "Sorry, no visitors"- sign at the approach to the distillery.
The new visitor center with its attached shop will provide information about the production methods of Orkney distillery, but whisky fans are especially happy about the announcement that there will be tours of the distillery and warehouse. After all here they can see something very special: an operating Lomond Still.
Scapa uses Lomond Still
In the 1950s Lomond stills were installed in several distilleries, combining the traditional pot still with a column on top of it. The result of this technique is a relatively heavy distillate. This method did not prevail, so that the Lomond stills where replaced by pot stills. But here at Scapa such a copper still is still in operation as a wash still, even if the originally installed copper bottoms that regulated the reflux were removed.
Visit a traditional Orcadian warehouse
Another highlight of the tour in Scapa Distillery is the glance in one of the traditional warehouses where barrels are stored directly on the earthy ground. The warehouses of Scapa are located close to the coast and offered the only possibility for a photo shooting of the distillery to those who longingly tried to catch a sight of Scapa.
After a walk along the distillery buildings with a view over the natural harbour of Scapa Flow the distillery tour ends up in the Visitor Center enjoying a dram of Scapa 16 Years old. Scapa Visitor Center ensures two permanent and two seasonal jobs and will be opened every day from 9.30 am to 5:00 pm up to September 28. Afterwards up to November 13 visits are still possible five days a week. Access to adults only.
