Highland Park 25 year old, 48.1%abv edition

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

Over the span of two decades, Highland Park gradually diluted their 25 year old release from 53.5%abv to 45.7%abv. I've tried the 50.7% and 48.1% bottlings on a few occasions, and always liked them more than the 30yo. Before I review my sample below, I'd like to encourage anyone who has open bottles of those whiskies to share or split 'em, because they need to be tried by newbies and experienced drinkers alike. The whiskies are not standard sherry bombs.

I think this particular sample of the 48.1% comes from around the 2006-2007 era when the bottle shape changed, and the ABV dropped a couple points.

Some of the blogger's photos are getting as desperate
as Sy Snootles.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Age: minimum 25 years old

Bottled: 2006-2007?

Maturation: likely a mix of Oloroso casks

Alcohol by Volume: 48.1%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

A nexus of dirty stones, ocean air and mild smoke leads the nose. Beneath that, one may find guava, apricot and yellow peaches. Beneath that are hints of toffee pudding and damp basements.

The bold palate has the nose's mix of stones, smoke and salt, while also taking on dunnage and musty casks (with minimal tannins). Smoked chipotles gradually turn into fresh Serranos. It also has a dragonfruit note, which I'm only referencing because I ate a dragonfruit this week. There's a good balance of mild bitterness and mild sweetness throughout.

Tart fruits roll forward in the finish joining with chile oils, making it quite zesty. Hints of dunnage and Oloroso here and there. Sweet oranges appear after the final sips.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

These 25+ year old sherry cask Highland Parks I've reviewed are all excellent, and any one of them could top the others depending on the mood or environment, so I'm just parsing minutiae at this point. In regards to this official 25yo Highland Park, I'm in agreement with My Annoying Opinions, Whiskyfun and Whiskynotes, the lively whisky packs a wallop into every sip. Any moneyed individual looking for Smooth will make whiskyfaces when trying this. Kudos to HP (15 years ago) for offering a fighter at this age range.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - €350-€450

Rating - 90

Birthday Booze: Highland Park 33 year old 1978

(Highland Park cluster homepage)

Alas, I conclude the hybrid birthday/cluster situation with an official 1978, with an unknown outturn, created for Travel Retail back in 2011. The cask type was not disclosed, but I'll tell you right here: it's sherry. Monday's 1978 was good, but a little weak. I have higher hopes for this one.

Distillery: Highland Park

Ownership: The Edrington Group

Region: Islands (Orkney)

Age: 33 years old (1978-2011)

Maturation: probably sherry cask(s)
Outturn: ????

Exclusive to: Travel Retail

Alcohol by Volume: 47.8%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

Black walnuts, incense, nutmeg and ancient oak fill the nose at the start. Hints of honey and candied pecans float at the periphery. After 30+ minutes, vibrant notes of charred orange peel, kelp and maple sugar arrive. It's reminiscent of old woody (think L'Encantada) Armagnac.

On the palate, it's a black walnut liqueur aged in a bold sherry butt. Layers of wood spice, toasted bitter nuts and sandalwood fill the mid- and foreground. Pipe smoke, grapefruit and Cointreau appear here and there at the edges.

Musty oak, cigars, salt and a hint of grapefruit finish it up.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This is 90% cask, but I like it, especially the nose, which treads close to old sherry cask Yamazaki. Had the palate's background notes of citrus and pipe smoke been louder and the wood quieter, then I'd be trying to figure out how many points higher than 90 the whisky would score. But an old whisky's palate, and especially the finish, often reveal the naked truth about the cask. This whisky's conclusion was good, but limited, a bit shorter than I'd expected. There's still something grand about the whisky, as one can feel its age throughout. But it's starting to get creaky around the joints, as if it were 43 years old.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - over €1000

Rating - 89

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