Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Highland Park (undisclosed but c’mon, we all know.)
Bottler: Ultimate van Wees.
Region: Islands (Orkney), Scotland.
ABV: 46%.
Age: 17 years. Distilled in 2006. Bottled in 2023.
Cask type: Refill Oloroso sherry butts.
Price: €65 EUR for 700mL.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 6 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, no significant change at the heel.
Nose: spent fireworks, bog mud, red fruits, golden raisins, wet rocks.
Palate: medium-full body ~ lots of red fruits, sulfur-laden gunpowder, petrichor, goes more mineralic, rubber.
Finish: medium-short ~ coastal rock pools, savory spices, orange zest.
Conclusion: This was an odd duck. I’ve heard it said that Highland Park is where Edrington sends some of their lesser-quality sherry casks, as the Orkney distillate can take to them better than Macallan or Glenrothes (which depend on high quality sherry for their profile.) This one was super gunpowdery, lots of cask sulfur but thankfully not enough to overwhelm HP’s spirit. I’m not super-sensitive to sulfur, but it was strong enough here to render this a mood whisky for me, not something I’d always want to be pouring. Although I felt it drank younger than 17 years, the red fruit and petrichor/rock pool notes kept me interested throughout, and when I was in the right mood they could hit me really nicely. Quite a good Highland Park, even if somewhat flawed.
Final Score: 80.
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.
Malt Runners 