Highland Park 18 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, 70cl

Product Information

The finish has a lot more “there” there. It starts off fruity and sweet before turning woody and spicy and finally closing out with just a whiff of smoke.

The following indicators should be taken as only a guide and not a set of hard and fast rules. Some "premium" whiskeys really are quite terrible, while some mass market products are good enough to pour into a decanter and serve to the Duke of Edinburgh. A+: A masterpiece and one of the ten best whiskeys of its type. Above five stars. Sitting atop last year’s revamped Highland Park core line is their 18 Year Old single malt. There are older expressions from this Orkney distillery, of course, but they weren’t included in the Viking-themed revamp.This whisky, from the most northern distillery in Scotland, is told to be a perfect example of balance and complexity, and in distillery's portfolio it should represent a synthesis between youth (12 and 15 yo) and maturity (25, 30, 40 yo). Finish: The finish repeated the palate very nicely, with a peppery, warming sensation gradually giving way to the light, fruit based, fresh feeling. Cinnamon and other spices linger in a medium to long, very smooth finish. P: first you get acid and fruity notes, mostly on sherry and dried fruits again. Then a delicious woody taste comes out, together with a gentle smokiness and a very delicate peat. We must say that on the palate it seems to be less sweet than expected judging from the nose, even if a gentle note of honey stands out. This Higland Park tends to dry your mouth towards the finish, and all the flavours tend to exhaust, leaving room to some woodiness and peat that rarely are so harmonious and enjoyable.

Highland Park routinely use Oloroso Sherry casks to mature their spirit but what gives their spirits it's unique profile is the peat that they use. Orcadian peat, sourced locally, is predominately compressed herbacious plants and heather (unlike peat from farther south, which is partially formed with tree matter and/or seaweed). The peat character is mild, however, as only 20% of the mashbill comes from Highland Park’s own floor maltings (and of that, only half is peated). The rest is unpeated malt imported from the Scottish mainlandHighland Park 18 is one of those whiskies one hears about as a consistent pinnacle of the distiller’s art, a high point, one of the great ones. However, when I first bought a bottle, maybe two months ago, it did not – in my opinion – live up to it’s reputation. Rich, warm, many layered – no aspect of the nose, palate or finish had anything wrong about it. It just wasn’t the masterpiece I had been led to expect. I realize that it sometimes takes a bottle some time to "break in" as it were. The level is down about two inches on mine. Believe me, it's not improving. Palate: My kind of dram. Warm, peaty, smoky, but really remarkably intricated with fruits, salt and sweetness. You get the best of all worlds here. The mesquite campfire smoke is incredibly enjoyable. Biiiiig smiles here!