Birthday Booze: Highland Park 18 year old 1978 Hart Brothers

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

Look at that: Birthday Booze + Highland Park Cluster all in one. I wish I could say that I'd planned it just like this many months ago, but......yeah let's just pretend.

I've tried a number of whiskies from the Hart Brothers, but for some reason I have never reviewed one here. [Update: This is not true. I reviewed a Hart Brothers whisky, an HP no less, in 2018.] So I'll start (and end?) my Hart Bros reviews with a tough one to top, an 18yo HP from 1978. Though Hart currently focuses on cask strength bottlings, with some 46%abv releases mixed in, the bottlers used to offer up 43%abv whiskies in previous decades, back when Gordon & MacPhail was doing the same.

Because this was (probably) a bourbon cask release, I didn't pair it up with an official 18yo. Instead it was matched up with my newly beloved 21yo G&M single cask bottling reduced to 43%abv. How would the 1978 fare in comparison?

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Independent Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Range: Finest Collection

Distillation year: 1978

Age: minimum 18 years old

Maturation: ??
Outturn: ????

Alcohol by Volume: 43%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

This is the citronella-est whisky I've ever nosed. There's also plenty of lemon zest and whole wheat bread up front. Fresh herbs and light smoke merge in the middle. Anise and a slight grassiness fill the background.

Orange zest fills the palate, with fresh herbs just underneath. Toasted grains and mild sweetness appear next. Cigar smoke and dusty leather show up after 20+ minutes.

Lemon candy, lemon juice, sea salt and cigar smoke form the simple but decent length finish.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This would be a very good everyday drinker. There are no missteps and each element works together with moderate depth. It's all very friendly and the whisky disappears quickly. But as always, this drinker wonders what this whisky would have been like at 46%abv or higher. Still, the diluted 21yo has much more complexity and character at 43%abv, so water isn't the only thing to blame for this 1978's muted shine.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - ???

Rating - 86

Birthday Booze: Speyside Region 43 year old 1973 The Whisky Agency

I don't know why I chose a pair of 43 year old whiskies, because I'm only turning 23 this week. Heh heh. Heh. Ugh.

Monday's 43yo was a strange lovely thing, a Cognac cask-matured Glenfarclas. Today's whisky is a "Speyside Region". Whiskybase lists it as a "blended malt", while the bottle label just says "Malt" (neither single nor blended). It may or may not be from Glenfarclas, it may or may not be from a fino cask. I'll drink the thing no matter what, but these games aren't very fun.

This whisky is quite beloved by many of those who have consumed it, including Ruben and Serge, who both gave it a 93-point score. I tried a 41yo 1975 fino cask "Speyside Region" two years ago and was underwhelmed. Perhaps it was just me, as my score is tied for the lowest on that 41yo's Whiskybase page, but that experience will keep my enthusiasm for this 43yo in check, unless the whisky changes my mind. Please change my mind, whisky.

Distillery: Glen Fart Glass?

Region: Speyside (maybe)

Independent Bottler: The Whisky Agency

Age: 43 years old (1973 - 2017)

Maturation: a butt of some sort
Outturn: 568 bottles

Exclusive to: The Whisky Exchange

Alcohol by Volume: 47.4%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

This is definitely not a sherry bomb. Instead the nose begins with brine, mango, basil and graceful old oak. It gets fruitier with time, but I can't pin down the exotic fruit. There are some white nectarines and blueberry pies involved, though. Some citronella around the edges. A dash of Pecorino Romano as well.

Woo, it has some fight left in it. Citrus peels, cinnamon sticks and tons of very dark chocolate on the palate. It balances a peppery burst with baking spices (dried ginger and whole cloves), while an autumnal forest floor note gradually builds with time.

It finishes with eucalyptus, yuzu, honey, dried ginger and cloves.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This was much better than the 41yo "Speyside Region", or at least I think it was, per my notes of the 41. I did try it side by side with the Cognac cask 'Farclas, and I loved them both. The official Farclas came out on top due to its dazzling unique style, but this 43yo Mystery Meat is excellent. Its success is due to the cask —as it usually is with spirits of a certain age — which I'm inclined to believe was indeed a fino sherry butt, and possibly not a first fill at that. Happy Friday, everyone!

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - Oh my goodness

Rating - 90

Randy Brandy drinks Malört

Kravitz thinks he's getting his revenge by subjecting me, Randy Brandy, to Malört. But the joke's on him. I'm going to take this review seriously.

What is Malört?

I actually have no idea, so you should watch this official video for more information. (Yeah that's right, I used a hyperlink. And italics.) All I know is that Chicagoans view Malört with a mixture of pride and utter embarrassment, as they do with their baseball teams, pizza, and Democrat mayors.

The Packaging

Gotta admire the graphic design going on with this six-shooter. The predominant yellow-green mucus, contrasting with the red almost-a-Nazi-emblem eagle.

Each mini has the classy plastic bottle and cap combo used for decades by failed brands that wind up in the 99¢ bin. And what is this? WHAT. IS. THIS.

Why is this legal? There's more alcohol in my cirrhosis medication.

Let's see what else these marketing geniuses put on the box.

Only "two-fisted drinkers"? What about one-fisted drinkers? Like all the people who lost an arm in a Malort fight?

Or a Malort fire?

Or a Malort fuck. Definitely a Malort fuck. I think you’re obligated to lose a limb in a Malort fuck.

Oops, I forgot to put the omelet over the Ö. (Kravitz, don't edit those omelets back in.)

The actual Malört part

Here are my notes:

COLOR - So the liquid has color to it. Is it supposed to have color? It's just ethanol and "botanicals". So where's that yellowish shade, like rusty water, coming fr......oh, that makes sense.

NOSE - It smells like hand sanitizers which smell like shit vodka which smell like hand sanitizers. Also ammonia.

PALATE - Wwwwwwwhat. Why. Why would anyone.

It's all chemical fires, copper wires, and junkyard tires. And hatred. Pure, radiant hatred. It's so hateful, Malört should review me.

FINISH - Vomiting after taking psilocybin or peyote may assist with the process (allegedly). But when taking Malört, vomiting won't help you because Malört tastes like bile. Early morning empty stomach dry heave bile, with the same yellowish tint, the color of impending death or cyborg piss. But I repeat myself.

There were my notes.

Further thoughts

I'm going to go find some strychnine to get this flavor out of my mouth. Someone told me I'd taste grapefruit in Malört. Yeah, maybe if the grapefruit was raped by Mr. Clean. I'll drink anything once. Okay twice. Now Kravitz, you can have the other four shotskis of this Socialist poison back. A little Skål for your skull, you asshole. There better be an apology awaiting me. And some cognac.

RATING: Ö

Birthday Booze: Glenfarclas 43 year old Cognac Cask matured

I interrupt your regularly scheduled Highland Park cluster program with birthday booze! Sorry, folks, it's an annual thing. There will be both curios and sensible choices this year. Today's whisky fits into both categories.

Bottled in May of 2010, thus distilled in 1967 or earlier, this Glenfarclas comes with a label that doesn't specify whether the whisky spent its entire life in cognac casks or just a smaller portion of its maturation time (though it may be related to this bottling). Having now completed the tasting, I'm going to posit that it very well may have been the former. It is unlike any whisky or brandy I've tried.

Distillery: Glenfarclas
Ownership: J&G Grant
Region: Speyside (Central)
Age: minimum 43 years old (1967? - 14 May 2010)
Maturation: Cognac casks

Outturn: ???
Alcohol by Volume: 40.7%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

It's a lovely, earthy, old hybrid spirit in the nose. At first, it's papaya, toffee, toasted walnuts and toasted oak. Then it picks up notes of Sauternes and dried cheese. (No I'm not going to say "rancio".) Then dried rosemary and coriander. After an hour it's funky honey and a worn out dollar bill.

The palate begins with gentle old oak, honeycomb and ripple of lime zest. Then, for almost twenty minutes, it is liquid honey. At the 43-ish minute mark, it shifts gears, taking on black licorice, dark chocolate and menthol, with hints of cigarettes, apricots and loquats in the background. The figs arrive, floating around in then honey after an hour.

It has a long full finish with the figs and honey arriving after the first sips, 30 minutes in. Bitter chocolate-covered pennies and sweet oranges appear later on.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I wonder if the whisky world will ever see anything like this again. If so, it would have to come from a relatively independent distillery like Glenfarclas. Hopefully someone tries it, because the resulting quality of this experiment was very high.

Like the ultra-aged G&M Glen Grants, this Glenfarclas registers gloriously rich even at 40.7%abv. It was almost profanely honeyed in the mouth; then fruits (figs and -quats), ancient oak and a puff of smoke join in, making each small sip fascinating. But that's nothing compared to the nose, where it was a glass-bound but puckish changeling, destined to sprout wings and fly away if I let it sit any longer.

Which is to say, I kinda liked the stuff.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - About 3x-4x its original price. Time machine, people!

Rating - 92

Highland Park 28 year old 1988 Cadenhead Small Batch

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

Welcome to the 1980s, the decade that never ever goes away! I'm going to duck in and out of the '80s over the rest of the cluster. I'm hoping that's a good thing when it comes to Highland Park single malts.

The 1988 Highland Park vintage releases have been well received by the much-read and much-supplied online reviewers. A few of these '88 HPs made it to The States, though all I know about them is that their color was dark and their prices high, and often the latter is linked to the former. I won't deny that I dreamed of someday trying one. And now look at me living my dreams! This whisky was sold in the US, is of a color that would tickle the fancy of many, and was priced somewhere between $300 and $400. As if I could restrain my expectations...

Distillery: Highland Park
Ownership: The Edrington Group
Region: Islands (Orkney)
Independent Bottler: Cadenhead

Range: Small Batch (as in one cask)
Age: 28 years old (1988 - 2016)
Maturation: sherry butt

Outturn: 480 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 55.5%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

Yeah, it does what it says on the label. The nose starts off with salty peated toffee pudding, then chocolate melting in the double boiler. Then there's the white fungus growing all over Cadenhead's dunnages, followed by a bit of meat, and a hint of burlap. The peat stands up to the hefty cask throughout. Reducing it to 46%abv brings out plenty of new characteristics. There's whole cloves, fruity cinnamon, barbecue smoke, toasted seaweed, and cherry pie (filling and crust!). There's even a hint of watermelon Jolly Rancher in the background.

This whisky reminds me that I have not had many 25+ year old sherried whiskies recently. Nuts, briny peat and mild cigar start off the palate. Fresh berries and black cherry soda (essences, not the sugar) arrive later, followed by fresh in-season black plums. At 46%abv the big smoke stands up to the big sherry cask, and they align nicely. Oranges, serrano chiles and yellow nectarines fill out the background.

The peat continues to build into the finish. A charcoal barbecue at the park. Machine shop. Plums and sea salt. At 46%abv the finish holds onto that mix of chiles, sweet fruit and muscular smoke.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Now if Highland Park's contemporary single casks were like this......they'd be $1000. But this is great. The cask is loud, but it's a honey. And the smoke is impressively fierce at this age. This style would probably appeal to Glendronach "single cask" and old Macallan fans, if they're not afraid of smoke. I don't foresee ever spending this sort of cash on a bottle (don't look at what the 1988s go for on The Secondary), but if I did it would have to meet this standard at minimum. If you picked up a bottle when it first came out, please enjoy your indulgence and spread the love.

Availability - Not in the primary market
Pricing - It's not real money, right?

Rating - 90

Highland Park 22 year old 1990 AD Rattray, cask 577

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

Let's bid the '90s adieu with today's sherry butt from the AD Rattray folks. I'm not sure what my expectations are for this whisky. ADR has had awful sherry casks and excellent sherry casks. This particular liquid has a moderate gold tint (ignore the terrible pic below), so perhaps it wasn't a dead butt, and perhaps it won't be ultra-tannic. Perhaps I'll just be moderately geeked for this.

Distillery: Highland Park
Ownership: The Edrington Group
Region: Islands (Orkney)
Independent Bottler: A.D. Rattray
Age: 22 years old (3 December 1990 - 17 April 2013)
Maturation: sherry butt
Cask number: 577
Outturn: 565 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 58.1%
(from a purchased sample)

NOTES

The nose has so much burn that I have to leave it alone for 30 minutes. After that I find toasted nuts and Corn Nuts. Ocean and caramel. Hints of flower blossoms and Chambord. There's also some butterscotch and apricot, but one has to plow through the heat to find it. Diluted to 46%abv, the whisky is more navigable. Green apples, dried apricots and vanilla pudding up front, toasted oak in the back.

The palate is very hot and very salty. Limes, raspberries and cayenne pepper fill in the midground. Winey tannins in the background. Again, it's more accessible at 46%abv. It's still peppery, salty and tart, but there are some new sweeter apple notes. It's more dusty than smoky.

My notes for the finish match those of the palate. At 46%abv, it's all black pepper and sweet apples.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This one underwhelmed, especially compared to the Highland Parks that precede and follow it in this cluster. It reads like a second- or third-fill butt that was not re-seasoned like many "refill" sherry butts today. It's reminiscent of those brutal green glass Cadenheads from days of yore, not in terms of quality, but in terms of burn. Once diluted, it's more comfy, but never more than that, reading like something that could have gone into a batch of Famous Grouse. For a different angle. see the Whiskybase community's enthusiasm.

Availability - Long gone
Pricing - ???

Rating - 82 (diluted only)

Highland Park 21 year old 1992 Gordon & MacPhail (my bottle)

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

I had to open up something for this cluster, and this bottle had "FFS, Open Me" written all over it. I found this thing sitting on a shelf six years after it arrived in the US, at its original price. It wasn't cheap, but it also wasn't much more expensive than the rebranded official 18yo "Viking Pride". That's a win, nowadays. It's from a refill American hogshead, which was the main reason I was able to find it at all. Scotch taters ain't climbin' over each other for a hoggie.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Independent Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Range: Cask Strength

Age: 21 years old (2 September 1992 - 14 January 2014)

Maturation: Refill American Hogshead

Alcohol by Volume: 56.1%
(from my bottle, from the top third)

NOTES

The nose begins with so much fruit: guava, grapefruit and apricots. Then soil, wet sand and kelp. A little bit of dunnage in the background. Horseshit. I mean, actual horse poop. Diluted to 46%abv, the nose is positively loaded with stone fruits and tropical fruits. Gravel, citronella and ground cloves in the middle. Almond extract and dunnage in the background.

Oh my, the palate has the nose's guavas and grapefruits. And mango! And yuzu (you knew that was coming)! The fruits merge with minerals, hay, toasted sunflower seeds and almonds. At 46%abv, the palate is slightly peater and tarter, more of a fighter. A swirl of sweet mango and tart guava juices in the background.

Perfect balance of sweet and tart fruits in the finish. Then there's gravel, crisp smoke and a farmy hint. It gets smoker once reduced to 46%abv, with plenty of tart limes and yuzus to back it up.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Was this one of those secret casks we weren't supposed to talk about? Well, it's been seven years, so...

This is fabulous. This is the American oak cask to beat for the whole HP cluster. It's exactly what I hope for when trying a non-sherried Highland Park. The nose has all the good things working together in unison, then somehow the palate mirrors it. It's probably the guava-est whisky I've ever had.

How much did I like it? Well, I consumed it so enthusiastically during the tasting that I had to delay this post for a day. I wanted to write about it with a clearer head, but here I am raving about a whisky coming from my own cabinet.

Availability - USA, though it might be sold out
Pricing - $180-$250

Rating - 91