Scapa 16 Year
The Scapa distillery is one of the most northern distilleries in Scotland, located in the Orkney islands. It is also one of the smallest, with only three staff on site (the manager operates out of Speyside, and the distillery itself is part of the Chivas Brothers branch of Pernod Ricard). Sadly, the small staffing means the distillery is closed to the public. The distillery used to be larger and produce several different offerings. Currently, all production goes into making the Scapa 16 that was launched in 2009. What kind of spirit is produced in a land where it is almost always ever-day or ever-night?
Highland Park 12 Year
The Highland Park 12 has been receiving high marks for about as long as there have been people to drink it. Moreover, this whisky hits that nice balance of good taste, regular availability and relative affordability. They are also a 21st century distillery, with a website full of short videos on their products, history, and the joy of malted exploration.
Auchentoshan Classic
Auchentoshan is the only triple distilled single malt in Scotland, more time consuming and costly than the regular double distillation. This process is supposed to create a more complex flavor while at the same time being gentler than the high alcohol concentration might suggest. They also have a cream liqueur that’s exclusive to their distillery. If it’s anything like Mrs. Walker’s Drumgray Highland Cream Liqueur, then it would be worth a trip and tour regardless what the rest of the offerings were like. Auchentoshan is also one of the few lowland distilleries still operating in Scotland, making its exploration near a requirement. Oddly enough, the Auchentoshan Classic is not currently listed on their website, so it may be in the process of being rebranded (as the Classic is a rebranding in 2008 of their Select).