Highland Park 20 year old 1999 Duncan Taylor, cask 501101

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

My lone dip into the '90s during the first half of the Highland Park cluster was a successful one, my favorite single cask of the cluster so far, an 18yo bourbon barrel from G&M. Now I'm going back to that decade for the next six reviews, four of which are for the same vintage: 1999.

I had thought this Duncan Taylor was from a hoggie, but the bottle count tells otherwise. 708 750mL bottles is quite an outturn for one vessel. That's 531 liters of liquid, after 20 years of maturation. So that's bigger than a butt. Perhaps it was a puncheon. Duncan Taylor's usual "Aged in Oak Casks", remains deeply unhelpful, so let's go with "Giant Sherry Cask", unless they seasoned a gorda with bourbon.

Distillery: Highland Park
Ownership: The Edrington Group
Region: Islands (Orkney)
Independent Bottler: Duncan Taylor
Range: Dimensions
Age: 20 years old (June 1999 - August 2019)
Maturation: ???
Cask number: 501101
Outturn: 708 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 53%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose shows more oak than sherry, specifically a layer of toasted oak right on the top. Yuzu candy and ocean/brine float through the midground, with hints of roses and pilsner in the back. It leans more towards earth and stones than smoke. It develops notes of brown sugar and walnuts with time. Once reduced to 46%abv it takes on a lovelier funkier fruit note, like that of stone fruits getting overripe on the kitchen counter in summer. The brine, yuzu and earth notes remain, while a malty note shows up later on.

The palate begins with smoke, sugar, almonds, pecans and tart oranges. After 30 minutes, it takes an almost dire turn towards an aggressive woody bitterness. Woody smoke and tart berries in the background. It improves when diluted to 46%abv, picking up more tangy citrus and Juicy Fruit gum. The bitterness and smoke calm down.

It finishes tart, bitter, peppery and smoky. It gets tangier and saltier at 46%abv, and much less bitter.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This Highland Park puzzled when neat. The nose was great, the palate/finish was not. Something seemed to have gone awkward with the (likely very) refill cask and its very pale whisky. Dropping it to 46%abv fixed many of the issues. It still nosed much better than it tasted, but at least it was a solid drink when diluted. It's not an HP I'd hustle after, but I can see how (at 43%abv) it could fit into a batch of the official 18 year old.

Availability - Possibly still available
Pricing - $170-$200

Rating - 84 (diluted only, probably in the 70s when neat)

Assessing the Highland Park cluster at the halfway point

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

"Distillery character" is a term tossed about by writers who know what they're talking about, and writers who don't. As My Annoying Opinions detailed six(!) years ago, the term is fluid, a construction, and certainly not clear cut. Styles at some distilleries, like those who focus on sherried whiskies (Macallan, Glendronach, Glenfarclas, Dalmore, etc.), seem to be driven by cask sourcing and management programs, rather than what comes out of the stills. Some shift with ownership changes, like Ledaig/Tobermory and Bowmore. Others seem to be running away from a once famous style, like Ardbeg (towards dog and pony shows) and Laphroaig (towards......?). Then there's Glenmorangie, where Bill Lumsden is the distillery character.

That brings me to Highland Park. Back when the official releases centered around the 12yo, 15yo (R.I.P.) and 18yo, I thought I had a sense of HP's style: soft peat and citrus peels merging flawlessly with mild sherry casks. Today's its character is......Nordic? In the process of tossing out dozens of releases, the distillery seems to pushing for branding more than consistency. It doesn't seem to have hurt their sales (though who's rushing out to buy their NASes?), so I doubt they'll switch tracks any time soon.

If (or when) I reference HP's distillery style during this cluster, I'm referencing something close to the spirit. Not the naked new make, but rather a whisky not overwhelmed by its maturation vessel. That's my preference in general, which is why this cluster isn't just a bunch of Orkney sherry bombs.

Out of the six high-strength sherry cask Highland Parks I've tried during this cluster so far, I'd only buy one, with cask violence being the main issue with the others. Meanwhile, I'd be happy to chase after three out of the four bourbon cask HPs thus far. That trio mixes fruit, earth, minerals, salt and a little smoke just right. But my favorite of the first 15 Highland Parks may be the official 18yo that was bottled back in 2010. It's kind of perfect, with that style I thought I'd find more often during this cluster, a style that may not actually exist.

As with the Port Charlotte cluster, my expectations have been blown to bits, though much earlier in this cluster. There aren't as many through-lines connecting the whiskies as I'd thought there would be. I'll keep my whisky antennae up for the style I thought I'd find, as well as the good stuff I actually did experience in the bourbon casks. But the second half of the cluster leads to older things, whiskies that have drawn character from the cask over more years than the younglings from the first half. I'll have to say goodbye to the spirit and indulge instead in my adventures in time. I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

Highland Park The Dark 17 year old

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

Yeah, so maybe I did say I wouldn't review any of the semi-recent gimmicky Highland Parks, but I couldn't pass up an official high-strength teenage sherry cask concoction. It's a pretty big batch too — 28000 bottles worth — so I'd love to find out what sort of HP Mean they arrived at.

So here it is, The Dork. Oh my bad, The Dark. With a name like that, one would expect something coffee-colored like the brutal official single casks, but instead the whisky has a copper hue. That's a good omen.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Location: Orkney

Maturation: sherry-seasoned European oak casks

Age: 17 years

Release year: ca. 2017

Outturn: 28,000 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 52.9%
(Thanks to Dr. Springbank for the sample!)

NOTES

The nose is all over the place. Peated Twizzlers, spicy cigars, A&W root beer, Dr. Brown's cream soda, moss, mango juice and almond cookies. It is expressive.

The palate's first beat is fruity and floral, but then the second beat is all aggro casks, bitter and heavy. It does find a crazy middle ground: bitter, smoky, sweet, sorta floral, sorta musty.

It finishes with cigars and cream soda. Hints of bitterness, sweetness, mustiness and citrus linger around the edges.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

How on earth did they end up with this result with such a sizable batch? Did they just have a weirdo parcel of 50-100 casks of 2000 distillate, and needed to find them a home? Were blenders involved at any point? And, again, Highland Park is perfectly okay attaching their name to THIS, but not scores of lovely indie single casks?

All of that being said, I like this whisky more than I should. It's strange and messy enough to be of interest. A bit extreme and never boring, The Dark is also quite drinkable. Were it half its price, I'd encourage people to try it. Not because it's from Highland Park (I can't find any Highland Park in this Highland Park), rather because it's a silly thing, and we need silly things.

Availability - It's still around, four years later
Pricing - $250-$400 (USA), $225-$350 (Europe)

Rating - 83

An Orkney Distillery 15 year old 2002 Archives

(Highland Park cluster homepage)  

It's Friday. We made it. Grab a drink! Unless you're on the can at work, because you know they're watching you.

Yes, I have also run out of Intro Energy, so I'll keep this brief-ish. This is the first refill hoggie Highland Park of this cluster, even though it's the fourteenth whisky. It was selected and bottled by the good Archives folks, whose success rate on this blog is outrageously high. The sample was sent to me by My Annoying Opinions, whose label work here is concerningly conservative.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Location: Orkney

Independent Bottler: Archives

Age: 15 years (6 May 2002 - 30 Oct 2017)

Maturation: refill hogshead

Outturn: 270 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 58.7%

NOTES

The nose starts with dried pineapple and dried apricots in the foreground, dried sage and dried thyme in the back. It also has a creamy dessert side (or maybe vanilla meringue?), that's countered by a nice dose of Orkney peat. Once the whisky is reduced to 46%abv, the nose becomes farmier, with lots of hay and stones and dried flowers. Maybe some baked apple in the background.

The layered palate has lemon and toasted barley on top, peppery smoke in the middle, and something between wildflowers and grass — heather? — on the bottom. But it's not a light, brittle thing. It's pretty bold stuff. After about a half hour, it's all lemon candy and peppery smoke. It seems to get a little louder 46%abv, more lemon, more pepper, more bitterness. Less smoke, more ash.

That peppery smoke, heather and lemons make up most of the finish, though smoke stays the longest. At 46%abv, the finish is tangy, peppery, and lightly sweet.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This one hit the spot, as it seemed to mix the seasons (especially spring and autumn) with ease. Like last Friday's HP, it's a great pour for the end of a long week. Put your feet up; listen to the cicadas or freeway traffic or the crackle of electric wires or your neighbor yelling at his child or your HVAC unit struggling to kick on or the sound of another Covid Apocalypse coming; tip the glass rim to your lips and say a silent prayer to The Spirit of Fuck It All with your first sip. Have a great weekend!

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???

Rating - 89

Orkney Islands 15 year old 2002 Berry Brothers & Rudd, cask 3 for The Whisky Barrel

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

Though this is another teenage sherry cask Highland Park, I promise I'm done with the masochistic crap. This one's abv is down at a semi-reasonable level of 56.8%. It's also from BB&R who run a decent London outfit, slinging wines for about four centuries, and whisky for approximately one. They did invent Cutty Sark, but that brand didn't go shite until Edrington bought it out. I think.

But even the gentlepeople of Berry Bros couldn't escape Edrington's demands to keep Highland Park's name off the label. Instead, much like the majority of indie HPs, "Orkney" appears instead. I'm not even going to give you the "well, maybe it's Scapa" spiel this time or ever.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Independent Bottler: Berry Brothers & Rudd

Age: 15 years (2002 - 2018)

Maturation: sherry butt

Cask#: 3
Exclusive to: The Whisky Barrel

Alcohol by Volume: 56.8%

(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose starts off very briny, with nutty sherry in the background. It slowly develops notes of caramel sauce and roasted corn. There are some notes of raspberry jam and apricot way in the back. It feels tight, with ethyl often dominating the other notes. Reducing it to 46%abv doesn't seem to change anything for a while, then some new notes of smoke, oranges and black raisins appear.

Fruitier than the nose, the palate immediately shows off plums, apricots and Rainier cherries. It never gets sugary, though, as bitter citrus peel, walnuts and serrano pepper provides a little bit of depth. At 46%abv, the citrus becomes sweeter, less bitter. The stone fruits get tangier, and a bitter chocolate bite shows up.

The finish has that citrus peel, apricot juice and pepper oil combo as well, with an added touch of smoke. The finish doesn't change much at 46%abv, perhaps getting slightly sweeter and smokier.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Compared to Monday's whisky, this is much closer to my style of sherried HP. It doesn't start too promising, as the nose reads narrow and bland. Luckily the palate tops the nose, a whisky occurrence I experience once a month at most. With its fresh fruit, moderate oak, and a reasonable strength, this is one of the most drinkable members of the cluster so far. With water it becomes a casual sipper. I'd rather have my Highland Park mumble than scream at me.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???

Rating - 86

Highland Park 13 year old 2004 SMWS 4.249

(Highland Park cluster homepage)  

I return, momentarily, to the high strength sherried Highland Park fad, with a botting from SMWS. It's sort of a cousin of the swollen duo I reviewed two weeks ago, except this time the HP is from a refill oloroso butt. The review will be conducted backwards again, with the highest dilution first and the uncut version last, that way I don't torch my face too early.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Age: 13 years (31 May 2004 - 2018)

Maturation: refill Oloroso sherry butt

Cask#: 4.249
Outturn: 592 bottles

Cask "name": The mermaid marmalade
Alcohol by Volume: 64.6%

(from a bottle split)

DILUTED TO 43%abv

The nose is remarkably hot for the abv. I get burnt bark and burnt leaves, then ocean air, vanilla and toffee. The palate starts with ash, charred veg, charred meat, burnt nuts and bitter oak. After 30 minutes some plum candy appears, lifting the palate a bit. It finishes with smoke, salt, maybe some limes and a lot of the burnt stuff.

Not great, Bob! It's fierce, but it's also one of the more carcinogenic-tasting things I've ever sipped. Perhaps the mermaid scalded the hell out of the fruits?

DILUTED TO 57%abv (100 UK proof)

At first the nose is all seashells, cinnamon, hay and a whiff of peat smoke......but mostly the burnt stuff, again. It gains notes of rope and dried currants after 30+ minutes. Meanwhile, the palate is more interesting than the nose. It's more herbal and quite smoky. There's some anise and smoked almonds. Lots of salt throughout. It finishes with heat, hay, dark chocolate and tangy smoke.

It's much better here on the palate, but the nose still has that scorched planet note that would work if anything offset it or balanced it out. But nothing does. Yet it does drink much better than the 43%abv version.

FULL STRENGTH, 64.6%abv

There's a considerable ocean/coastal presence in the nose. Is that supposed to be "The mermaid"? But there's also dark chocolate that fades into brownies, with time. Then some farmy peat and grape jam. The palate is hot, tangy, salty and as aggressive as one would expect. Some dried herbs and bitter veg drift through the background, but not much else. The finish is hot, tangy and loaded with ground black pepper.

Great nose! The palate......needs some water?

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This is what I like to call Late-Imperialist Whisky; it tries to conquer through nothing but lumbering violence. Actually, I just made that term up. Steal it if it works!

This style of whisky was definitely not designed with my sort of palate in mind. So there will be folks who find it A-MAY-ZING, but I find it kinda hot-meh. (I'm quite the wordsmith tonight.) I think it's at its best in the full strength nose, but the palate works better with a little bit of water. But be careful with that water, because things may get ugly. The coastal notes in the nose help keep this Highland Park's score out of the 70s.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - originally £61

Rating - 81

Highland Park 18 year old 1999 Gordon & MacPhail, cask 4256

(Highland Park cluster homepage)  

This is the third bourbon cask Highland Park from Gordon & MacPhail I'm reviewing this week, but it's not the last one in the cluster--

Okay, I'll just spoil things. I normally don't knock out all 2oz of a sample in one sitting, but it was a goddamned fuckin' day, and this whisky was perfect for a goddamned fuckin' day. No, not the sort of whisky to get shitty with, or with which to get shitty, but a whisky that hits every note right. Let's get to it, and if you bought a bottle of this, congratulations. May you open it on a goddamned fuckin' day.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Independent Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Range: Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength

Age: 18 years old (30 Aug 1999 - 18 May 2018)

Maturation: 1st fill bourbon barrel
Cask number: 4256

Outturn: 177 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 53.6%
(from a purchased sample)

NOTES

Apricots, white nectarines, honey and a moment of light smoke start the nose and......just stay there for a good 20 minutes. Then comes a hint of mango, a whisper of musty oak, roses, apple skins and wet grasses. Diluted to 46%abv it's all fruit, flowers, broken stones and soil.

The palate begins with a grassy, almost floral, smoke. Peaches and yellow plums. Hints of bandages and sea salt. Then it slowly develops a bright bitterness, and note of smoky grilled chiles. When reduced to 46%abv, the whisky becomes intensely mineral, which I didn't realize was a thing until now. It's a bit earthy and bitter, with hints of roses and vanilla beans, and lots of tart limes.

Tart lemons join floral peaches in a finish that has a long dusty, briny, smoky fade out. At 46%abv, there's earth, stone and bitterness to go with a splash of peach juice.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Because I'm a Gen Xer I feel like this is the place to throw a GIF or a meme or ironic emoji. But I'll save all of those for other reviews. One may find a more complex Highland Park (likely with a higher age statement), but this is precise, graceful whisky selected and bottled at the perfect strength. It motivates me to continue this cluster.

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - it was €130-€140 maybe?

Rating - 90