Highland Park Distillery

No 3: Highland Park Distillery

The third bottling has been hand-selected by Gordon Motion and Annabel Meikle from a selection of four cask samples from Highland Park distillery on Orkney. This refill American hogshead was filled in November 1998 and bottled in June 2018 after 19 years of maturation.

The spirit has not been chill-filtered and has been bottled at 55.7%. The outturn of the cask yielded 297 bottles.

A Complex Distinguished Dram

This Keeper’s release with its bright, but pale blonde colour does not prepare you for what is to come. A burst of fresh summer notes hits first closely followed by the arrival of vanilla fudge. Beautifully balanced, delicate and fresh with hints of honeysuckle, pineapple and melon. Fresh oak is distinctly present in the background along with traces of heather honey and a touch of toffee. More tropical fruits – lychees and peaches emerge with water. On the palate there is a richness and a hint of spice which may allude to this whisky’s age. The finale is warming with a very subtle smoky departure. A complex and distinguished dram.

Colour: Mid-gold, with khaki lights; leonine. Good beading. Thick legs.

Aroma: Light nose prickle, refreshing and head-clearing. The top note is at once tart, fruity and mineralic – unripe plums or greengages, sprinkled with chalk and sea-salt, on a buttery pastry base. A suggestion of fragrant smoke in the background and light coconut in the development. A drop of water introduces faintly medicinal scents of dry lint and plaster-cast.

Taste: At natural strength the texture is slightly oily. The taste is momentarily sweet, then very salty with a long spicy finish. A drop of water tames and softens it, makes it more accessible but does not change the essential profile.

Comment: A unusual example of Highland Park – aromatically complex and with a powerfully maritime taste: assertive at full strength, more polite when reduced but still full of character.

A Powerfully Maritime Taste

An Enticing Whisky

Colour: Bright gold with linden tree tea hues.

Nose: Floral and fruity. Gorse, a touch of hawthorn, ripe peaches, juicy lemon. An earthy hint gently swirling with a note of sea air too. Then, more summer fruit: melon, apricot. A lovely “pas de deux” between floral and fruity notes. The distinctive bourbon creaminess wraps up this summer bouquet in yogurt and vanilla. Truly enticing. With water, the vanilla is more intense but never cloying or overpowering.

Palate: Crisp and fresh. But with an oily texture with a satin-like feel. Rich fruity flavours. Cream soda. More peaches. A fresh lemony touch with a light salty feel. Getting spicier (ground ginger). With water: sweeter but it loses this vibrant and uplifting freshness that is expressed at cask strength.
More citrus too (rather tangerine or sweet orange).

Finish: Dry and spicy, lingering on creamy vanilla. Fresh crushed hazelnut aftertaste.

Comment: An enticing whisky which does not express the earthy root notes the standard Highland Park does. But it gives way to a full bowl of ripe summer fruit with a delicate floral profile. It is like walking along a coastal path, edged with gorse and wild flowers and biting into juicy fruit. A dram for a summer evening when the air is filled with scents from the sea and the warm earth.

Colour: Brightly golden with impressive legs.

Nose: Ripe oriental and tropical fruits leading to fresh patisserie; mango and passion fruit Danish pastries.

Palate: Rich but soft; delicious honey, stone fruit, white pepper and, finally, the merest whiff of smoke.

Finish: Warming and discreetly aromatic with elegant, heathery peat.