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

The 18yo can be seen as the corner stone of the Highland Park range. It unites the older richness of the 25yo and 30yo with the freshness and liveliness of the 12yo and 15yo. A highly regarded classic.

  
Highland Park 18yo (43%, OB 2007)

Nose: a bit of everything really. Honey, a bit of smoke, some grassy notes, apple, spices, toffee, butter…This is a true all-round whisky, it contains a lot of flavours in the right amount. Mouth: punchy attack, quite fruity and sweet. Hints of peat and smoke. Very rich. Finish: a bit of mocha and marzipan and something vaguely metallic. Salty notes (liquorice).

A luxurious all-rounder. Around € 50.

Score: 85/100.

Highland Park 30 yo 1981 (52,2%,
The Whisky Agency ‘Fungi’ 2011, ex-bourbon wood, 198 btl.)

Nose: a classic nose on hay, paraffin and grass with lots of heather. True Highlands style. Some citrus notes and apples. A little resin and earthy notes. Something yeasty as well. Very faint coconut oil and lemon balm. It could have been very austere and unsexy but there’s just enough fruity sweetness to balance it. Complex. Mouth: starts quite sweet / citrusy and grows grassy over time. Heather again. Seville oranges. Lots of spices (nutmeg, pepper, cloves). Some tannins and bitter notes. Hints of smoke. Again nothing jumps out, everything is presented in a perfect balance. Finish: long, sharply focused on lemon and pepper with slightly oaky notes.

A very clean and typical Highland Park, excellent in many ways but maybe a bit too austere for my personal taste. Around € 170. Sold out.

Score: 90/100

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

Highland Park 24 yo 1986 (50,7%,
Malts of Scotland 2011, bourbon hogshead #2296, 234 btl.)

Nose: plenty of typical heather notes. Aniseed and ginger, a little eucalyptus and mint. Grass and pine needles. Very “green” you could say. A muted fruitiness of garden fruits (mainly apples), pushed aside by mineral and waxy notes – even hints of bandages. Mouth: waxy with more peat than usual. Lemon zest, grapefruit, rhubarb, some grass again. A little coastal. Again some pine needles and resin. Gets slightly bitter towards the end. Finish: medium long on lemon, dry resin and a salty edge.

The grassy / bitter / salty notes take away some of the fruits and roundness of this Highland Park, but it does have plenty of Islands character. Also, this is interestingly different from the officials. Around € 120.

Score: 85/100

It’s a 17 year-old Highland Park bottled in 2001.

Highland Park 17 yo 1987 
(51,3%, SMWS 2005, 4.102, 260 btl.)

Nose: curious combination of heather and flour. Hints of pineapple, mango and vanilla. Quite some wax. There’s indeed a lovely hint of orange candy, like the hard candy in the form of a mandarin slice. Mouth: roasted nuts, sugar coated almonds, mocha. Then mixing with fresher citrus notes. Toasted, sour yet quite sugary. Yellow plums. Also faint smoke. Finish: nicely candied, with oranges, a little liquorice and a hint of mint.

I guess the comparison with duck à l’orange lies in the roasted / orange combination. A slightly odd Highland Park. Around € 80 back then.

Score: 85/100

Highland Park 13yo 1995 (46%, Single Malts of Scotland 2009, cask #470 & #471, 770 btl.)

Nose: very natural with a kind of mineral profile. Lots of typical heathery notes. Hints of fresh green tea with citrus. There’s a distinct waxiness as well. Very delicate wood smoke, peat and a little honey. Clean and youthful. Mouth: lemon juice with a green, vegetal edge (like chewing on a citrus seed by accident). Hints of marmelade, although not very sweet. A kind of lavender / soapy edge as well that I’ve never encountered in a Highland Park before (interesting but not entirely to my liking, I’m afraid). Getting drier and quite bitter (grapefruit, unripe oranges) towards the end. Finish: medium long, mostly on grapefruit with a peppery tang.

This is certainly not a usual Highland Park. Good nose, but it’s missing some trademark honey sweetness, and I’m afraid many people will find it a tad too bitter on the palate. If you want to broaden your view on HP however, this could be an interesting bottle. Around € 52.

Score: 81/100

This 14 years old Highland Park was bottled in two versions – one at 46% and one at cask strength. We’re trying the stronger version.

Highland Park 14 yo 1995 (55,8%, Whisky-Doris 2010, bourbon hogshead #1468, 205 btl.)

Nose: nice combination of grassy notes, heather honey and interesting fruits (sweet pomelo and lime I would say). Some coastal notes as well as wet limestone. Nicely balanced peat smoke. Mint. Water highlights the heather and mint and adds floral notes. Mouth: the peat is much more expressive now and has a nice chlorophyl coating. Simple fruity centre (apples and pear). Again an evident grassiness and a nice lemon/brine combo. Gently smoked. Slightly sweeter with water. Finish: pretty long and spicy, with liquorice and lemon.

Very good middle-aged Highland Park. Perfectly drinkable at cask strength, with balanced flavours and a nice coastalness throughout. Available for € 55.

Score: 87/100

In terms of flavour profile, this recent addition to the Highland Park range is quite closely related to the Highland Park 30 years old, sharing a slight emphasis on American oak in maturation (less sherry influence to release more of the smokiness). That’s why I’ve tasted them head-to-head, apart from the HP 18 yo and HP 25 yo.

The 21 years old is only available at travel retail. Unfortunately it has been difficult to find outside of the UK.

Highland Park 21yo (47,5%, OB 2007)

Nose: a bit quiet at first, but it became more expressive after a while. Lots of heather, more than in the 30y. Again quite fruity and sweet, but it has more body and seems to be more complex. More pear and more oak influence, apple pie, floral notes and even some cherry. A bit ‘darker’ or ‘dustier’ as well, with some well-defined notes of bonfire and roasted nuts. Toffee, chocolate and caramel. Some herbs. Lovely nose altogether. Mouth: vivid, spicy attack (ginger, nutmeg). Heather and honey again. Oily. Peat smoke in the distance. Creamy milk chocolate. Very rich. Warmer and less citrussy / gingery than the 30yo. Finish: long continuation of the taste. Starting with a sweet smokiness and getting drier in the end.

It’s a cracking dram, certainly worth looking for. Around € 80.

Score: 91/100

   
Highland Park 25yo (48,1%, OB 2007)

Nose: definitely grassier and waxier than the 18yo. More resinous notes as well. The honey accents are still there, but less pronounced. More peat, less caramel. Walnuts. It’s difficult to say whether this is better or not, it seems a lot sharper and a bit more one-dimensional on the nose. Mouth: really muscular: more peat, more grass. The sweetness was traded for a waxiness and there’s a bunch of pepper. It’s bigger and less gentle, which is a good thing. Finish: very long with dominant spices and warm peat. Less smokey than the 18yo. Some marmelade at the very end.

This one is wilder than the 18yo. It’s less balanced and less all-round, but I presume it was meant to be like that. Since the 25yo is almost 3 times as expensive, the 18yo still offers the most for the money. On the other hand, once you’ve tasted the 25yo, the 18yo seems a bit soft and “easy”.

Score: 86/100.

Highland Park 30yo (48,1%, OB 2007)

Nose: very floral and tropically fruity. Peaches, pears, really sweet and highly elegant. Some beeswax and slight estery, spirity notes. Heather and honey as well, which are Highland Park’s trademark notes. Some vanilla and nutmeg. The lightest hints of an extinct fire. Very nice although I’m missing some depth. Mouth: toffee, some lovely oranges wrapped in chocolate. Vanilla, cinnamon and ginger. Figs. Almonds. Honey. Finish: long finish on orange and grapefruit. Soft touch of smoke. Getting drier with a slightly metallic edge.

This dram has aged magnificently. Very mature, mellow and surprisingly crisp, floral and fresh. Around € 220.

Score: 89/100

A blind sample was sent to me by Marc (thanks) and my first impression wasn’t very good. I gave it a second try though.

Highland Park 18 yo ‘Earl Haakon’
(54,9%, OB 2011, 3300 btl.)

Nose: sweet with a lot of red fruit aromas: redcurrant jam, damson, pomegranate maybe. Slightly candied. So far so good. Quite some spicy notes (ginger, cinnamon). In the background: bonfire on a beach. Mouth: very peppery and gingery attack. Starts fairly dry but after a while it develops a nice sweetness (dark sugar, raisins). Unfortunately there’s also a sharpness and sourness of winey notes (plum wine). Hints of Seville oranges and chocolate, with a faint coastal hint and traces of peat towards the end. Finish: spicy, oaky, quite long and rather dry.

My notes are still the same, but my initial score (“around 80”) is now a little more on the positive side. It’s probably the best of the Magnus releases, but given the price and hype, I’m still not convinced. Around € 185.

Score: 84/100

Highland Park ‘Leif Eriksson’
(40%, OB 2011, travel retail)

Nose: starts on porridge and dried flowers. Also a little unfresh melon, although this changes into more pleasant fruits like figs and pears. Quite some spices (vanilla, spicy oak). Subtle hints of smoke and sea air. Pine wood. Mouth: soft and a little undefined. There’s sweet apple, citrus, plenty of malty notes / cereals and plain sugar. Again a faint smokiness and oakiness. Some vanilla and nutmeg. A bit too naked in my opinion. Finish: sweet, underpowered and too malty.

I’m not really impressed by this Leif Eriksson release. The common Highland Park assets are not present, and the result is lacking some punch and character. I’ll have any member of the standard range over this one. Around € 70.

Score: 79/100

Saint Magnus

Saint Magnus was matured mainly in Spanish sherry oak, of which 20% were first fill casks. It is bottled at 55%.

The third edition in this series, Highland Park Haakon, will be bottled as an 18 year-old. Expected in the second half of 2011.

Highland Park 12 yo 1998 Saint Magnus (55%, OB 2010, 12.000 btl.)

Nose: starts with a few unfresh smells, especially in comparison with yesterday’s 1986 by Daily Dram. Hints of rubber and meat. This is not uncommon for sherry releases, but I have troubles with it sometimes. After a while it fades and shows more classic dried fruits and honey lacquered meat (overall not very sweet though). A little yeast. Apples and cinnamon. Heather. Subtle peat. Some barbecue smoke, leather and plenty of spices. Mouth: very spicy (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg) with toffee notes, apples and a hint of wax. A little pepper. Some bitter liquorice. In the end there’s something like burnt oranges and still some rubber. Finish: rather long, dry / bitter and sherried with peat smoke.

I had high hopes for this, but they’re not entirely fulfilled. It’s nicely coastal and relatively peaty but I’m more a fan of fresh, juicy (second fill?) sherry influence. Quite expensive as well: sold for € 100.

Score: 80/100