Founded in the Orkney Islands in 1885 by John Townsend, a distiller from Speyside, the Scapa distillery is, alongside its neighbour Highland Park, the most northerly distillery in Scotland. The distillery was mothballed in 1994 by its then owner (Allied Distillers) and only a few distillations completed by the Highland Park team enabled Scapa to survive. It officially began production again in 2005, after it was bought by the French spirits giant Pernod Ricard.

A Linkwood 1980 bottled in 1994 by The Vintage Malt Whisky Company, an independent bottler founded in Glasgow in 1992 by Brian Cook. The company is known for its selections in the Cooper’’s Choice range and for brands like Tantallan and Finlaggan—an Islay whisky whose exact origins are unknown.