Built in 1885 by Glasgow blender John Townsend, on the Isle of Orkney (off the northern tip of Scotland) Scapa was damaged by fire in 1919 ... but was susequently rebuilt. In 1936 it was bought by Bloch Bros. (Glen Scotia) who ran it for two decades before selling to Hiram Walker/ Allied Distillers. Allied even installed a Lomomd Still in 1959 before shuttering operations in 1994. In 2005 it became part of the Pernod Ricard stable and a major refurbishment, begun the year before, was completed. The new owners have removed the plates from the Lomond stills (leaving the barrel-like necks intact for increased copper contact), redesigned the packaging of the single malt and upped the age from 14 years to 16.