It had been a while since I went through the core range of Highland Park. My last review of the 18 Year Old dates back to 2009…
Until recently, that is. I was invited to wade through a water bed near the North Sea and harvest ‘Ostendaise‘ oysters. Oysters and Highland Park have always been a great match. After that we headed off to Bar Bulot, where chef Gert De Mangeleer treated us to some of his legendary dishes (including a magnificent vol-au-vent), paired to different expressions of the Orkney whisky.
Along the way I could (re-)try a few cocktails and most of the core range expressions:
- Highland Park 12 Years: decent, but light entry-level whisky
- Highland Park 15 Years: probably my favourite in terms of value for money
- a new batch of the Highland Park Cask Strength at 64.3% (an expression I never tried in depth)
- Highland Park 30 Year Old after the dessert: truly excellent
The downside of such events is the fact that there’s never an opportunity to retract and write a proper review. In this case I could take home a bottle of the 18 though.
Highland Park 18 yo ‘Viking Pride’ (43%, OB 2023)
Nose: a lot of butterscotch and toffee. Then some orange peels and heather honey, peppercorns and just shy hints of peat smoke. Autumn leaves. Hints of cold coffee in the distance, as well as herbal tea. Some rougher grassy notes, and more sherry than I remembered.
Mouth: more toffee sweetness alongside mature hints of oak. The honey returns, as well as marmalade and a hint of coffee. Then hints of cocoa and nutmeg, with roasted rosemary and a hint of ginger. The ABV is perhaps a little modest given the coastal, intense profile. Some leathery notes towards the end.
Finish: quite long, with mild smoke, herbal notes and hints of chocolate coated raisins.
I hadn’t kept track of recent developments at Highland Park, but this 18 Years comes across a little more well-behaved as before. A little less peaty too, although the coffee hints, leafy notes and roasted herbs are really nice. Still a classic, found at TWE or plenty of other retailers around the world.