Highland Park 10 year old 2001 Gordon & MacPhail, cask 2998

(Highland Park cluster homepage) 

Gordon & MacPhail, grandpa of independent whisky bottling, is one of the few bottlers who are still allowed to call their Highland Park releases "Highland Park," so we don't have all half-assedly guess about G&M Orkney single casks. Yet.

I've enjoyed G&M's Highland Park releases because they're often bourbon cask matured, an under-appreciated style of Kirkwall's finest. As noted last week, most of the big bucks are spent on dark sherry cask Highland Park. There will be a mix of sherry and bourbon cask HPs for the rest of this cluster, but this week brings me three first-fill bourbon barrel whiskies. First, I have a relative youngster from the retired Cask Strength series...

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Independent Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Range: Cask Strength

Age: 10 years old (16 Oct 2001 - 13 Sept 2012)

Maturation: 1st fill bourbon barrel
Cask number: 2998

Alcohol by Volume: 57.7%
(thank you to My Annoying Opinions for the sample!)

NOTES

Lots of barley, apples and hay on the nose. Horse whisky! Lemon zest, wildflowers and kiwi juice in the midground, a hint of vanilla marshmallows in the background. Interesting......after 20 minutes I smell a horse barn. Reduced to 46%abv, the whisky holds onto the barn note, while swapping out the lemon zest for lime zest. Toasted grains and apple cider appear next, along with a hint of Play-Doh.

Sage smudge and herbal bitterness hits the palate first. Then salt, limes and lots of minerals. Down at 46%abv, the whisky gains some savory smoke, fresher herbs, barley and a hint of cucumber skin.

It finishes with salt, barley, soil and lots of dried herbs. At 46%abv, it finishes with the savory smoke, herbs and a pinch of pepper.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Though you may not see dozens of individual notes or florid adjectives above, I really enjoyed this Highland Park. Rustic and lean with just a touch of oak, it shows HP youth in all the right ways. It also dilutes well, and can be dropped closer to 40%abv without much of a problem. If you enjoy this style, keep an eye out for this cask if it ever hits the secondary markets.

Availability - ???
Pricing - ???

Rating - 87

Highland Park 16 year old 2003, single cask 1885 for The Whisky Exchange

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

The first two official Highland Park single casks of this cluster-within-a-cluster were 12 years old. This one from TWE, at sixteen years, is one of the oldest of the 220+ single casks that the distillery has dropped in the past three years. Those extra four years has helped bring its alcohol content down from murderous levels to something more familiar. Like the previous two HPs — and the majority of these official casks — this sherry cask was fashioned from "European" oak.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Age: 16 years (2003-2019)

Maturation: first-fill European oak sherry butt

Cask #: 1885

Outturn: 585 bottles

Exclusive to: The Whisky Exchange

Alcohol by Volume: 58.9%
(from a bottle split)

DILUTED TO 43%abv

The nose is reminiscent of the old Glendronach 15 year old Revival (when it was older than 15 years old), but with much more peat. Dates, figs, fresh basil, toffee and molasses fill it all out.

The palate matches the nose nicely. It reads much heavier and richer than 43%abv. There are tart oranges, dates and figs in the foreground. Molasses and black coffee in the background.

It finishes with black coffee, dark chocolate and figs.

DILUTED TO 50%abv

Dried currants and almonds in dark chocolate, hints of tar, musty basement and toasted pecans in the nose.

Black coffee and mint leaves lead the palate with a little bit of dried currants and smoke in the background. It develops notes of soil and tangy fresh berries with time.

The long, tingly finish is an assortment of dried berries coated in cocoa powder.

FULL STRENGTH, 58.9%abv

The nose has dried cherries, dried cranberries, honeydew and wood smoke. It gets figgier with time, while also gaining molasses and eel sauce.

The palate has tart berries, tart citrus, tar and tobacco ash at the start. Fresh cherries show up later.

It finish pulls in the sweet and tart fruits from the palate and nose.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I think this sherry bomb's character is what people hope for when they buy a bottle of any of the Highland Park single casks. Big and rich, it fills the senses like few sherry cask whiskies have lately. The bits of smoke and citrus, and its ability to shine when diluted, set it apart from other aggressive-yet-generic sherry bombs. Its price is still hot bananas, but at least the whisky's great.

Availability - The Whisky Exchange
Pricing - £199.99

Rating - 89

Highland Park 12 year old, single cask 5036 for K&L Wine Merchants

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

In Monday's intro to this cluster-within-a-cluster, I noted how Highland Park went big with their current single casks: Big Alcohol Content, Big Color, Big Prices. None of those aspects lure me, but sherried Highland Park is always of interest so I took part in bottle splits of three single casks. Monday was a single European oak butt for Bevmo, today it's a single European oak hoggie for K&L.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Age: 12 years (2006-2019)

Maturation: first fill European oak hogshead

Cask #: 5036

Outturn: 292 bottles

Exclusive to: K&L Wine Merchants

Alcohol by Volume: 66.0%
(from a bottle split)

As with Monday's HP, I'm tasting backwards, approaching diluted levels first.

DILUTED TO 43%abv

No sulfur on the nose this time. Not much in the way of smoke either. It's mostly almonds, walnuts and dunnage.

The palate leans heavily on nutty sherry casks. It's a little acidic, a little sweet (dates!) and has a touch of woody bitterness in the background.

It finishes with dates, salt, pepper and tannins.

The good news is this HP doesn't go extra ugly at this strength. The bad news is that this whisky feels over-diluted at 43%abv. I like the date notes though.

DILUTED TO 57%abv (100 UK proof)

I get this bold cherimoya note on the nose. (I'm no cherimoya expert, as I've tried the fruit all of three times, but I highly recommend tracking one down; it's definitely......something.) There are also nectarines, almond extract, blackberry syrup and some toasted oak. A few root beer barrel candies in the background.

The mighty alcohol note registers early in the palate. Lots of sherry going on here, and a slight industrial note that makes it feel a little old school. Smoke, cassis and tart nectarines float through the mid- and background.

The sherry note gets fruitier in the finish, while also holding onto those tart nectarines.

At this strength it's in much better shape, a real sherry monster. Though the palate is short on nuance, the nose is a lot of fun. Time to try it at...

FULL STRENGTH, 66.0%abv

The nose is all vanilla, banana and varnish at first. Needs air, the whisky and the drinker. Ah, it does pick up almond extract, fudge and fresh stone fruit after a while.

On the other hand, the palate is approachable. It has a moderate berry sweetness, salt and raw walnuts. The oak offers more spice than bitterness.

It finishes tart, gingery and salty with a whiff of toasted oak.

I lived to type another review! Again the nose proves more interesting than the palate, which is likely due to such an aggressive cask.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This was without a doubt a cleaner and more reliable cask than Monday's. It requires dilution, though it may work better in the 50-55% range than my experimental levels. I still think the aggressive oak and extra high ABV don't do the whisky a lot of favors as those factors seem to suppress the spirit's character, but some fans of sherry cask whisky will likely enjoy this Highland Park more than I do.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - $160

Rating - 84

Highland Park 12 year old, single cask 6737 for BevMo

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

One of my many complaints in my Full Volume Highland Park Rant post was that the distillery had discontinued its program of offering exclusive single casks. And wouldn't you know it, mere weeks later a new exclusive Highland Park single cask program began! Just like Jim Murray, I will say that it was 100% my doing, and you're welcome. Unlike Jim Murray, I will not compare them to an imaginary girlfriend's soiled undergarments in Barcelona.

Most single distilleries have a barreling/filling strength of 63.5%abv. Highland Park goes with 69.5%abv. That explains the ultra high ABVs on these single casks, and the extractive nature of that strength probably has something to do with the dark color of these releases.

Scotch whisky that punches in higher than 63%abv (or even 60%abv) tends to clash with my palate. And I'm not always quick to chase coffee-dark whiskies, as they're often massively tannic. But the main thing that has kept me from buying a bottle of one of these single casks is......you guessed it! The price. Here in America (aka Democracy Central) these ~12 year old whiskies are priced at $160-$200. And I have no idea why I (or anyone) should pay that amount. These are not one-offs; more than 220 of these casks have hit the market as of the date of this post.

Anyhoo, I have friends and acquaintances who feel otherwise, and they have bought a bottle or two. (Though I don't know anyone who has dropped $200 on the Ohio-exclusive cask.) And because I don't want to miss out on all the fun, I participated in three bottle splits.

I'll start with the BevMo single cask.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Age: 12 years (2004-2017)

Maturation: first fill European sherry butt

Cask #: 6737

Outturn: 360 bottles (cask split?)

Exclusive to: BevMo

Alcohol by Volume: 65.3%
(from a bottle split)

I'm going to conduct this tasting backwards, trying the whisky at lower/diluted strengths before digging into the full strength version.

DILUTED TO 43%abv

Hello nose, hello sulfur. Hello lots of sulfur. A little bit of farm, plenty of berry candy and hot fudge. The sulfur fades a bit, but the rest remains.

The palate is grassy, gingery and very very sweet. Some pencil lead and prunes stand out. But it's mostly sulfur.

It's all sulfur, sugar and prunes in the finish.

It's actually impressive how much sulfur can be squeezed into a 43%abv whisky. For a Highland Park, this stinks in more ways than one. Long time readers (do you exist?) know I kinda like a bit of dirty cask here and there, but this one...whew.

DILUTED TO 57%abv (100 UK proof)

There's much less sulfur on the nose. More more fruits (limes and plums) and more chocolate. A good blop of black strap molasses.

Some actual peat appears in the palate, along with prunes, rock salt and a hint of oranges. The sulfur registers louder here than in the nose.

The finish goes flat with salt, pepper, sugar and sulfur.

It's an improvement over the 43%abv version, but not something I'd recommend to anyone, especially not to Highland Park fans.

FULL STRENGTH, 65.3%abv

The nose is tight but not too hot. I smell a fruitcake loaded with cherries, as well as fruity cinnamon and chocolate. The sulfur emerges after some time, as does a raisin note.

The sulfur is most palatable here on the cask strength palate. And it's drinkable though tight, again. Salty and savory, the flavor is boosted with hints of tart citrus and sweet pineapple.

It finishes with bigger notes of salt and pineapple, smaller notes of smoke and sulfur.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but don't add water.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I find it interesting that Highland Park is happy to put their name on this whisky, but not okay with allowing their name on the labels of scores of potentially excellent independent casks. This whisky does not help the brand in any way. Though sulfur-phobes may disagree, this whisky isn't a complete disaster. But it's also not on-brand in its style, and it would PISS ME OFF if I paid $150+ for it. Highland Park puts out great whisky consistently, like few brands do. This is not great whisky.

Availability - Sold out?
Pricing - $150-$160

Rating - 79 (again, don't add water)

Highland Park 18 year old four times, four bottling codes

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

In previous decades, Highland Park 18 year old was considered a modern classic, then more recently it became one of the bellwethers of the single malt price surge as it jumped from $100 to $150 seemingly overnight. When Highland Park rebranded in 2017, the 18yo became Viking Pride (because Erik Thorvaldsson drank a lot of Highland Park 18) and received a whole new bottle shape.

I'll be honest, I haven't tried the stuff since the rebranding, partly because of the price, partly because there are a A LOT of whiskies out there. But I have obtained two samples and two minis of the pre-Viking 18 year old. One sample was from an OC Scotch Club event, the other was from a Columbus Scotch Night event, and I bought the two minis from a place in LA that was slinging them for only $6.99 a pop!

Each of these four HP18s has a different bottling code, and interpreting HP bottling codes can be challenging. Luckily for us, there have been several online discussions that have gotten as close to the truth as any of us will likely get unless we're hired by The Edrington Group. Here are three such conversations: the first of which was initiated by a mysterious chap named Mongo (who has feelings for Sheriff Bart):

https://whiskywhiskywhisky.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=95835 - This one was initiated by a mysterious fellow named Mongo (who has feelings for Sheriff Bart).
https://www.connosr.com/highland-park-bottling-codes-whisky-discussion-1731
https://www.connosr.com/macallan-cs-bottle-codes-whisky-discussion-1547

Going by the information gleaned by these good people, a drinker can discern an HP18's bottling year by the bottling code, specifically the letter that ends the first part of the code. For example:

L0092K L10 25:02 10:04
L0262M L3 14:04
L0276R L3 11:07
L0566S L4 16:12 11:40

The label style, seen on the minis in the pic below, ran for 11 years from 2006 to 2016. Per the linked discussions, here is your secret decoder:

F - 2006
G - 2007
H - 2008
J - 2009
K - 2010
M - 2011
P - 2012
R - 2013
S - 2014
T - 2015
W - 2016

So for my samples:

L0092K L10 25:02 10:04 - bottled in 2010 (erroneously marked 2009 on my sticker)

L0262M L3 14:04 - bottled in 2011

L0276R L3 11:07 - bottled in 2013

L0566S L4 16:12 11:40 - bottled in 2014

Because these are all only 43%abv, I can try them side-by-side-by-side-by-side without causing an international incident. Probably.

---

Highland Park 18yo, 43%abv
code L0092K L10 25:02 10:04 - bottled in 2010

Oh the nose. Clementines, apricots, lychee and guava. Candied pecans, almond extract and toffee pudding. And if that wasn't enough, there's a definite Yamazaki 18 note to it.

The palate may be even more complex than the nose. Sweet clementines meet bitter stone fruit skin meet ultra tart limes. Almonds, salt, stones and a bit of dunnage rest in the background. There are some very sticky, almost paxarette-style sherry casks in the mix. They show up late and never leave, just like me!

It finishes with sweet citrus, tart citrus, roasted almonds and minerals/stones.

This HP earns its reputation. It's a work of art. Stellar right at 43%abv, it is the least peaty HP18 I've ever had, and the fruitiest. At times it reads older than 18 years, but I doubt there was anything much older in the mix, since single malt sales were already on the rise in 2010. We were spoiled at that OCSC event.

RATING - 90

---

Highland Park 18yo, 43%abv
code L0262M L3 14:04 - bottled in 2011

Raw pecans, raw almonds and gravel lead the nose, followed by a gentle briny peat and a hint of nocino. Hints of orange peel and apricots sneak into the smoke after a while.

The palate begins with bitter chocolate, dunnage, creme de cassis and dried currants. There are hints of a super dry cabernet at the start, which then fade away and are replaced by grapefruit notes. Considering the dilution and filtration, the whisky has a very silky mouthfeel.

It finishes with bits of bitter chocolate, smoke, lemons and grapefruits.

A year later, a drier batch. Gone are most of the 2010's fruits, replaced by some very good edgy tart and bitter qualities. Because of this, the whisky is less moreish, and more of a fighter. It would pair well with a heavy dessert and a winter evening.

RATING - 88

---

Highland Park 18yo, 43%abv
code L0276R L3 11:07 - bottled in 2013

This one's nose leans closer to a seaweed-y Islay peat than I'm used to finding in an official HP, but it's quieter and more delicate than the famous malts from that island to the south. There are summer wildflowers, orange blossoms and almond brittle in the middle, and some sherry cask dried fruits in the back.

Again with the orange blossoms, now on the palate, joined by orange brandy, almond skins and a pinch of salt. Hints of peaches and musty casks linger in the background. It's the sweetest of today's four HP18s, and there's no sign of the nose's peat.

Plenty of sweetness fills the finish as well, though it's slightly tempered by some salt, wood smoke and bitter peel.

Though the nose is very interesting, the palate is simply pretty. It's very well made and a pleasure to drink (too quickly), but without the previous two HP18s' complexity, it feels like a half step down. The palate needs that peat, even if it's just a touch. Again, it's good stuff but not that much better than that era's 12yo.

RATING - 86

---

Highland Park 18yo, 43%abv
code L0566S L4 16:12 11:40 - bottled in 2014

There's definitely some complexity to the nose here. There are minerals, limes, and a hint of the briny peat, but also some butterscotch, orange blossoms and dried cranberries. Oddly, an eau de vie note appears after 30 minutes.

The palate begins with bitter orange peel, grassy smoke, pruny sherry casks and lots of buttery American oak. It loses some of that oak over time, but it's only replaced by black pepper.

It finishes bitter, buttery, and peppery, with a few limes.

This one was of a much different quality than the other three. It was also the most recent sample, from a bottle opened less than a year ago. If memory serves me right (which is not guaranteed), this whisky underwhelmed at the whisky event as well. The nose is the best part, again, and keeps this from dropping into the 70s, rating-wise. I'd take any of the popular Speyside/Highland 18s over this one's palate.

RATING - 81

---

That ended on a weird note. My hope is that the L0566S was from an off batch, and that my lone unopened bottle of HP18 (a letter 'T') doesn't have similar issues. The 2014 was the only one of the four where the oak became aggressive. Were it a 2021 bottling, I wouldn't have been shocked, but 2014 seems early for cask tinkering.

Meanwhile, the 2010 was utterly lovely, and some folks might even like the 2011 better. I enjoyed finding the orange notes appear in all four whiskies, taking on different forms at different times for different senses. The palates' lack of peat was fascinating as well. Either my palate was blown out from 2.5 months of Port Charlotte or 18 years of maturation in the official warehouses softens and shifts Highland Park's phenolics.

May your remaining bottles of pre-Viking Highland Park 18 year old match your preferences. Next week, I will drink something stronger...

Highland Park 2010 New Make Spirit Drink

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

Though it's a pleasure to begin one of these clusters with some new make, I don't know the story behind this release. It's a mystery to me why Highland Park sold it, and it's a mystery to me why they stopped selling it. But it was a real thing! I was so excited to find out it existed that I bought up 40% of a split of one of the skinny 350mL bottles.

As I'd mentioned in the series opener, the distillery does about 30% of its own malting on site. As of last year that in-house malt was significantly peated (30-40ppm). Were the 2010 specs the same? Is this new make from that peaty malt, or from the unpeated sourced malt, or a mix of the two? I may or may not find out right now...

pic source

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Kirkwall, Orkney

Distillation date: February 2010

Age: New

Maturation: in the bottle

Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfilltered? Probably not
Colorant added? Highly doubtful
(from a bottle split)

The nose begins with anise and a woodsy peat smoke. The smoke becomes mossier and chalkier with time. Hints of dark chocolate and rosewater appear around the edges.

It's a mouthful of cigarette smoke, slivovitz and bitter chocolate. There's a little bit of complexity to it, with a grassy/hay side, bitter citrus peel and lemon candy.

It has a real finish with smoke and earth up front, dried herbs and bitter cocoa in the back.

This was much smokier than I'd expected even considering the current onsite malting specs. I dare say it may even be too peaty, with the smoke (possibly) hiding some fruitier elements. Had this been a blind tasting, I would have guessed this came from Islay. Because of its powerful style, the new make is well served by its 50%abv bottling strength. 70%abv would have been punishing.

Apparently the distillery itself currently sells a newer 350mL 50%abv new make. If you've had it, let us know in the comments what you thought of it. In the meantime, I'm going to keep the rest of my portion on hand for future tastings.

Rating - 82

The Highland Park Cluster

HISTORY

Highland Park distillery was (probably) founded in 1798 by David Robertson, but didn't go legal until obtaining its license 28 years later. James Grant, formerly of Glenlivet fame, modernized it by expanding the facilities and adding stills in the late 19th century. Highland Distillers purchased the distillery outright in 1937, and began marketing Highland Park single malt in the 1970s. Thanks to The Whisky Loch and solid warehouse management, HP debuted their 18yo and 25yo in 1997. The current owners, The Edrington Group, bought the distillery two years later. The brand then went Full Viking in 2017.

Though Orkney is culturally distinct from the rest of Scotland, and was under Norse rule longer than it's been part of Scotland, I'll let Highland Park's marketing squad sell its Viking story. And I've already disgorged a rant about their chaotic branding, so I won't waste any further space acknowledging the brand's unintentional comedy. 

A FEW DETAILS

Highland Park does ~30% of their own malt onsite, peating the barley to 30-40ppm using Orkney decayed vegetation, which results in a different peated-style than Islay malts. The other ~70% of the malt arrives unpeated from Simpson's. Combining these two malt types, as well as different fermentation times (from 50 to 80 hours), can result in different styles even before the spirit starts maturing. 

BUT WHAT ABOUT MY FEELINGS?

I like Highland Park single malt.

THE CLUSTER SHAPE

28 Highland Parks comin' up, distilled from the 1970s to the 2010s. There are a few contemporary official bottlings, but no Norse stuff. Sorry not sorry. There will be at least one week of the now-ubiquitous "Orkney" indie single malts.

The Port Charlotte cluster stretched out over 76 days, so you'll be relieved to know that this one will be over only 74 days from now. Unlike Port Charlotte, Highland Park tends to not be bottled at murderous strengths and tends not to be a palate killer, so I won't space out the reviews in the same fashion. Instead it'll be 2.5 months of nonstop HP, aside from two very special weeks near the end.

I'm looking forward to exploring so many of HP's permutations, but I'm even more excited about drinking some good whisky.

THE HIGHLAND PARKS

1. Highland Park 2010 New Make Spirit Drink - "I dare say it may even be too peaty, with the smoke (possibly) hiding some fruitier elements."

2. Highland Park 18 year old, bottled 2010 - "It's a work of art."

3. Highland Park 18 year old, bottled 2011 - "Gone are most of the 2010's fruits, replaced by some very good edgy tart and bitter qualities."

4. Highland Park 18 year old, bottled 2013 - "...very well made and a pleasure to drink (too quickly)......but not that much better than that era's 12yo."

5. Highland Park 18 year old, bottled 2014 - "...the only one of the four where the oak became aggressive."

6. Highland Park 12 year old 2004, single cask 6737 for BevMo - "Highland Park puts out great whisky consistently, like few brands do. This is not great whisky."

7. Highland Park 12 year old 2006, single cask 5036 for K&L - "...a cleaner and more reliable cask than [#6737]."

8. Highland Park 16 year old 2003, single cask 1885 for The Whisky Exchange - "Big and rich, it fills the senses like few sherry cask whiskies have lately."

9. Highland Park 10 year old 2001 Gordon & MacPhail, cask 2998 - "Rustic and lean with just a touch of oak, it shows HP youth in all the right ways."

10. Highland Park 17 year old 2001 Gordon & MacPhail, cask 3004 - "...heftier than the 10yo from the start......bitterer and smokier overall..."

11. Highland Park 18 year old 1999 Gordon & MacPhail, cask 4256 - "...this is precise, graceful whisky selected and bottled at the perfect strength."

12. Highland Park 13 year old 2004 SMWS 4.249 - "...Late-Imperialist Whisky; it tries to conquer through nothing but lumbering violence."

13. Orkney Islands 15 year old 2002 Berry Brothers & Rudd, cask 3 for The Whisky Barrel - "...fresh fruit, moderate oak, and a reasonable strength......one of the most drinkable members of the cluster so far."

14. An Orkney Distillery 15 year old 2002 Archives - "This one hit the spot......mix[ing] the seasons with ease."

15. Highland Park The Dark 17 year old - "...strange and messy enough to be of interest. A bit extreme and never boring......it's a silly thing."

Assessing the cluster at the halfway point

16. Highland Park 20 year old 1999 Duncan Taylor, cask 501101 - "Something seemed to have gone awkward with the (likely very) refill cask and its very pale whisky."

17. Stones of Stenness 18 year old 1999 Single Cask Nation, cask 453 - "...(I can't believe I'm saying this), I don't think a secondary maturation would have hurt it."

18. Undisclosed Orkney Distillery 20 year old 1999 Infrequent Flyers, cask A324-4 - "...felt like Talisker's cousin with its coastal peppery style."

19. Undisclosed Orkney Distillery 21 year old 1999 Infrequent Flyers, cask 5743 - "It was savory and gamey rather than grape jammy, if you'll allow the words."

20. Highland Park 21 year old 1992 Gordon & MacPhail - "This is fabulous......It's exactly what I hope for when trying a non-sherried Highland Park."

21. Highland Park 22 year old 1990 AD Rattray, cask 577 - "It reads like......something that could have gone into a batch of Famous Grouse."

22. Highland Park 28 year old 1988 Cadenhead Small Batch - "...this is great. The cask is loud, but it's a honey. And the smoke is impressively fierce at this age."

23. Highland Park 18 year old 1978 Hart Brothers - "It's all very friendly and the whisky disappears quickly. But...[one] wonders what this whisky would have been like at 46%abv or higher."

24. Highland Park 33 year old 1978 - "This is 90% cask, but I like it, especially the nose, which treads close to old sherry cask Yamazaki."

25. Highland Park 25 year old, 48.1%abv edition - "A nexus of dirty stones, ocean air and mild smoke..."

26. Highland Park 16 year old 1984 Old Malt Cask - "The palate is dramatically flawed with its soap, cardboard and heavy oaky bitterness."

27. Highland Park 27 year old 1984 The Whisky Agency - " If 25+ year old bourbon cask HPs were in my price range, this style is exactly what I'd seek out."

28. Highland Park 26 year old 1977 Hart Brothers - "It's a good whisky, not tremendous, but a well made drink I'd be happy to pour at any time."

Concluding the cluster