By now you should know the Daily Dram anagrams, and High Dark Plan is an easy one if you ask me.

Highland Park is one of the two distilleries on Orkney (together with Scapa). The island is located at the northern edge of Scotland, at the same latitude as Stockholm, Sweden or Anchorage, Alaska. Because of the rather extreme climate, there are very few trees to be found and the peat is very gentle (just soil, no wood).

Highland Park ‘High Dark Plan’ 10yo 1998 
(46%, Daily Dram 2009)

Nose: taking off on estery notes. Peach, pear candy, grapefruit. Fruity honey and vanilla. Yellow apple. Very sensual in a way. Developing on more grassy / mineral notes, with delicate peat after a while, but still quite sophisticated. Whiffs of heather as well. Hardly any smoke. Mouth: punchy and just as fruity. Some syrup and vanilla, but soon to be replaced by growing peat. More smoke towards the finish. Spices emerge as well (cloves, ginger). Vibrant. Finish: Smokey, rather sweet and spicy (some peppery notes even). Hints of coffee beans. Slightly metallic.

This is very good stuff, and again it proves the all-round qualities of Highland Park, even at young ages. A fruity nose, growing more powerful on the palate with spicy wood influence in the finish. Around € 45.

Score: 86/100