It is a yearly tradition to review the highly anticipated Black Friday whisky from The Whisky Exchange. Now the concept may be wearing out a little (and becoming more widespread among retailers) so the yield is considerably lower this year. They’ve also left out the showy countdown as bottles remained available far beyond Black Friday. Anyway, it is usually a limited edition with a nice profile and high quality at a very friendly price. The 2023 edition was a middle-aged Glenkinchie.
Black Friday 2024 brings us a 16 year old Highland single malt from an undisclosed distillery on the Island of Jura. Okay, so the name is not on the label but it’s not so undisclosed after all. Matured in an Oloroso sherry hogshead, is said to combine coastal minerality with an old-fashioned sherry character.
Highlands Single Malt 16 yo ‘Black Friday’ 2008 (53,8%, The Whisky Exchange 2024, 800 btl.)
Nose: a very earthy and seaside style of peat, with coal dust, a bit of leather and tobacco, as well as a whiff of mustard, fisherman’s rope and a nice dusty edge. Underneath I find some red apples, subtle berries and lemons, black pepper and salted nuts. Hints of ginger and nutmeg too. Then back to lightly charred notes, now joined by gauze, mild antiseptics and an old cleaning cloth.
Mouth: punchy, with coastal peat, leathery notes and a mentholated layer. Then some mezcal-like sharpness and spicy oak. Faint raisin sweetness in the background, along with black pepper, brine and lemon peels. Dark chocolate builds towards the end, as well as warmer smoke, a hint of BBQ meat and a leafy umami note.
Finish: long, with drier wood smoke, more leafy notes and leather.
The nose (the best part) is fairly complex and clean – it’s nicely peated, not entirely in an Islay style but a more dusty, muddy style of its own. On the palate the profile is taken further, with lots of leafy notes and a sharper coastal side. Overall the sherry is quite subtle here. A nice addition to the series, with the character of an old fisherman and a fair price. Now available from The Whisky Exchange, but given the smaller yield, probably not very long.