Highland Park
- OWNER: EDRINGTON GROUP
- FOUNDED: 1798
- REGION: HIGHLANDS
The northernmost distillery in Scotland—just above its fellow Orcadian, Scapa—Highland Park is also one of the most renowned. In recent years it has emphasized the Orkney Islands’ Nordic roots, with limited releases named for Norse gods and various elements of Viking lore. It’s not an empty claim: Norway controlled the islands from 875 to 1472 AD, and left its mark—Highland Park’s reputed founder was named Magnus Eunson, a preacher who is said to have hidden whisky from the excise authorities under his pulpit. For decades Highland Park was also known for using local peat, which is heavy with heather, and bere, a variant of barley, to create its signature flavor profile; it still uses local peat for 20 percent of its malt, with a phenolic content of 20 ppm.
Highland Park
Magnus
Aged in a mix of sherry-seasoned and ex-bourbon barrels, this whisky is named in honor of Magnus Eunson, the distillery’s legendary founder.
- PRICE $ · RATING NR
- AGE No age statement
- ALC/VOL 40%
- NOSE Rich honey, berry, honeydew, dried tangerines, and floral notes; water elicits orange, toasted coconut, and fruit juice.
- PALATE A thin mouthfeel, with notes of vanilla, dried wood, toast, coffee, and, at the mid-palate, a drying citrus tang; the finish is darkly tropical, with tangerines and lemon rinds.
- GENERAL Anemic and one-note; a higher proof might help.
Aged 12 Years
Aged in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks made from American oak.
- PRICE $ · RATING
- AGE 12 years old
- ALC/VOL 40%
- NOSE Sweet biscuits, geraniums, ginger, honey, a slight rubbery note, and a strong boozy hit, which intensifies with water.
- PALATE Oily, medium-bodied; it opens with peat, then sweetens with marmalade, lemon zest, caramel, and herbal notes. The finish offers cigar, a bit of pepper, and a lingering smokiness.
- GENERAL The sweet and restrained smoky notes are well assembled, but overall the whisky is a bit basic.
Highland Park
Dark Origins
Fitting its name, this expression uses twice as many ex-oloroso sherry barrels as the core age-statement expressions.
- PRICE $$ · RATING
- AGE No age statement
- ALC/VOL 46.8%
- NOSE Lots of bold sherry, along with smoky notes of creosote and old wood, bittersweet chocolate, dates, and grilled citrus; water brightens it significantly.
- PALATE Honey-sweet up front, with smoky and peppery notes building toward the mid-palate; as it moves to the finish, it dries a bit, resolving in a long, smoky, oaky finish. Water brings these various stages together into a unitary experience.
- GENERAL A lively, almost alive whisky; it evolves noticeably on the palate from sweet to dry.
Valkyrie
Valkyrie is part of the distillery’s ongoing attempt to highlight the Orkney Islands’ Scandinavian ties. Whereas standard Highland Park is made with 20-percent peated malt, Valkyrie is made with 50 percent. It is the first in the three-part Viking Legend series that will also include Valknut and Valhalla.
- PRICE $$ · RATING
- AGE No age statement
- ALC/VOL 45.9%
- NOSE Burnt sugar, fruit syrup, glove leather, heather, dirty grass, sulfur, and a wine-like funk—which emerges even more with water, along with ash, pork, and vegetal notes.
- PALATE A big spice hit up front with a thin-to-medium mouthfeel, expanding into toasted coconut, ash, wood spice, black tea, and mint toothpaste; water makes it sweeter and fruitier, though it also adds a note of charred bits. The spice returns on the finish, though it remains sweet to the very end.
- GENERAL For such a large jump in the peat level, it’s hardly noticeable. While not uninteresting, it lacks the heft and richness of the usual Highland Park.
Highland Park
Aged 15 Years
A relatively rare expression aged in ex-oloroso sherry casks made from toasted American oak. Along with Dark Origins, it has been discontinued.
- PRICE $$ · RATING
- AGE 15 years old
- ALC/VOL 43%
- NOSE Butterscotch, citrus peel, oak, peat smoke, candied ginger, and dark berries; water sweetens it, with more fruit.
- PALATE The reverse of the 12 Year Old: Opens with sweet raspberry, strawberry, and tropical fruit notes, then moves to a smoky, oily mid-palate; the finish is sweet camphor and a bit tannic.
- GENERAL An impressive, complex whisky, and diverse in its uses—neat, in cocktails, before or after dinner.
Full Volume
Aged exclusively in ex-bourbon barrels, instead of the usual sherry. Bonus: It comes in a box designed to look like a (very small) amplifier, with the volume knob turned to, yes, eleven.
- PRICE $$$ · RATING
- AGE No age statement
- ALC/VOL 47.2%
- NOSE Soap, green apples, honey, dried figs, and a hint of peat; water gives it a slight cream note, like cake batter.
- PALATE Astringent, with a bit of spice and honey up front; it evolves into honey, cherry cough syrup, and cinnamon candy. Water adds some estery floral notes, but not much. The finish is dry, short, and a bit soapy.
- GENERAL In This Is Spinal Tap, Nigel Tufnel’s amps all go to eleven, for “when you need that extra push over the cliff.” Nigel Tufnel would not approve of Full Volume. It only goes to one (star, that is).
Highland Park
Aged 18 Years
Aged primarily in ex-sherry casks.
- PRICE $$$ · RATING
- AGE 18 years old
- ALC/VOL 43%
- NOSE Big sherry hit up front, with ever-so-slight smoke underneath it; there are dark fruit notes of plums, port, baking spices, and brown sugar, with a slight salinity. Water doesn’t do much to it, despite the proof.
- PALATE A medium body delivers vanilla, sherry, and toffee, with a boozy, peppery mid-palate; smoke comes forward at the finish, which is also slightly tannic and spicy.
- GENERAL A solid, well-built whisky that lacks just enough depth to qualify as great.
Aged 25 Years
Nearly 50 percent of the whisky is aged in first-fill ex-sherry casks, a higher percentage than younger Highland Parks. In 2013 it was the first whisky ever to win a perfect score at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge.
- PRICE $$$$ · RATING
- AGE 15 years old
- ALC/VOL 45.7%
- NOSE Coastal, briny, dry sherry, with a restrained peat presence, but also old scotch notes of toasted almonds, rancio, linseed oil, and old wood. Water brings out fenugreek and fennel.
- PALATE The mouthfeel is slightly viscous, with notes of plums and cherries, hints of honey and wood smoke, a tannic backbone, and a spicy undertone that builds to a pop at the mid-palate; water heightens the sweetness and dampens some of the tannins. The finish is slightly spicy, dry, and quick.
- GENERAL A master class in balancing the rough peat and coastal notes of the Highland Park house style with a supple sweetness not always found in its younger (and, in many cases, newer) sibling expressions.