This Highland Park 1986 is one of the most recent releases by The Nectar of the Daily Drams. Independent bottlings of Highland Park can go in different directions, let’s see where this is going…

Highland Park 24 yo 1986
(51,8%, Nectar of the Daily Drams 2010)

Nose: mixed fruity notes and coastal elements. Not wham-bam candied fruit but a nice, elegant sweet layer of oranges and ripe apple. More fruits than usually found in this distillery. Nice eucalyptus and wax. Vanilla. On the other hand quite some dry flinty notes and a hint of chalk. Very good. Mouth: oily, mineral and slightly resinous. A hint of peat as well. Quite dry, the sweeter layer with vanilla is now in the background. Grapefruit. Develops on leafy / grassy notes with a hint of bitterness and liquorice. Still pretty coastal (oyster, lemon). Finish: medium length, with hints of herbal liqueur, dry resin and earthy notes.

A high quality dram with different elements: very fruity but also mineral, waxy, coastal elements… An nice all-round Highland Park. Very different from distillery releases though, so be careful if you’re only searching for that kind of profile. Around € 105.

Score: 89/100