Highland Park 17 Year (2003) Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask K&L Wines pick

Review by: The Muskox

I’m very slowly working my way through a gaggle of these K&L Wines cask picks. This one’s a Highland Park!

Distillery: Highland Park.

Bottler: Hunter Laing.

Region: Islands.

ABV: 54.9%, cask strength.

Age: 17 years old. Distilled in 2003. Bottled in 2021.

Cask type: Refill Hogshead.

Price: $80 USD at K&L Wines.

Color: White wine. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

Nose: Sweet and very salty. Sea-spray-encrusted beach grass. A variety of sweet malty notes – oat cakes, honey granola, and pannettone. Fresh fruit flavours of orange peels, nectarine, guava and mango. Hints of powdered sugar and chalk. Light herbs too – mint and tarragon. Some white chocolate and nutmeg.

Palate: Medium-thick texture. Arrives with salted butter, orange, tropical fruit, guava. Develops to rich herbs and honey-smeared brioche. Light peat and moderate oak – charred wood, burning heather, distant back bacon. A bit of a sour earth character, with that heather and salt coming in strong on the back end. Strong green tea and black pepper.

Finish: Creamy, bright, bittersweet. Big heather honey and more citrus and pineapple. Floral and grassy again, green tea ice cream. Light vanilla, very buttery. A tiny hint of smoky bacon and some chocolate mints.

Possible SMWS bottling name: “Matcha ceremony on a deserted island”

Notes: This is pretty good. I love the tropical fruit and green tea profile, but it doesn’t quite have the body or complexity that I was looking for. It’s a touch bitter towards the finish too, and also not very peaty (for better or worse). I think it falls into the trap of many of the K&L picks – very well-priced, but ultimately not amazing-tasting.

Final Score: 84.

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.

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