Review by: The Muskox

As the world slowly gets back to normal, I’m slowly starting to get back together with friends for whisky nights. This bottle was cracked open a few nights ago at just such a gathering. The last Duncan Taylor Highland Park I tried was a rather terrible Battlehill, so I hope this is an improvement.

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Distillery: Highland Park.

Bottler: Duncan Taylor.

Region: Islands.

ABV: 54.6%, cask strength.

Age: 13 years old. Distilled in November 2007. Bottled in April 2021.

Color: Light gold. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

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Nose: Classic Highland Park – fragrant heathery honey, matchstick smoke, and flamed citrus. There’s a certain honey juiciness in here that makes me wonder if this is a re-re-refill sherry cask. Iced lemon poppyseed cake, with extra poppyseeds. Overripe pineapple and tropical flowers, as well as more domestic orchardy notes of apple, pear, and peach. A bit of a vinegar-based BBQ-sauce savouriness.

Adding a dribble of water amps up that more of that savouriness and smoke, along with a hint of tar. Some extra fruity sweet notes of banana and Fuzzy Peaches (the candy) as well. A little bit of egg custard.

Palate: Medium-thick texture. Arrives sweet-tart with pear, green banana and tart honey, before turning into charry tandoor smoke. Tart and smoky through the development, with black pepper, polished leather, bittersweet cooked sugar, and some old wood. Apple cider, white chocolate, and nougat.

With water there’s more citrus and some pickled ginger on the arrival. The wood is slightly greener, and the smoke takes on a bit of an industrial gasoline-y aspect.

Finish: Medium-short, sweet and citrusy. Burning orange peels, lemon-lime candy, chocolate-covered salted pretzels, honey-sweetened peach tea, and sugar cane. Fresh sea salt.

Water adds a bit of a mineral/chalky note.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Carolina-style cold-smoked Mountain Dew”

Notes: A solid Highland Park. I love the smoke character in here – that hint of meatiness as well as that slightly green vegetal character make for a very satisfying lightly/moderately-peated dram. My main gripe is that it’s a bit harsh on the palate – the nose and finish are sweet and luscious but in between it’s a bit too bitter-tart and even slightly harsh. I felt like this whisky tenderized my tongue a bit more than I would usually expect. All in all, a tasty whisky, though slightly rough around the edges.

Final Score: 83.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.