Review by: Raygun

This not-so-secret Orkney comes from Signatory Vintage, part of The Un-chillfiltered Collection. Those are usually 46% but store picks like this one are more often at cask strength. A very hefty cask strength in this instance. This was picked by Spec’s in Texas. Initially sampled blind, with additions after the reveal in italics. Rested about 15 minutes.

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Distillery: A secret Orkney distillery, obviously Highland Park

Bottler: Signatory Vintage

Region/style: Islands single malt Scotch 

ABV: 64% 

Age: 16 years. Distilled on Valentine’s Day 2006 and bottled on January 17, 2023. 

Cask type: Refill sherry butt DRU17 A65#20, 605 bottles.

Color: 1.7 burnt umber. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Seems very sherried, but with a particular kind of funk. Not the mustiness of Oloroso. Almost like a lambic. A mix of dried and fresh fruit. Heavy on the prunes. Beery, and also Chinese sour plums.

Palate: Well, hello. That’s nice. Still seems a little beery, and now wondering if that’s a hint that brewer’s yeast is afoot. Richer than the nose suggested. Plums, raisins, and pastry. I’m still leaning sherry, but maybe Fino or Amontillado although it’s darker than those typically are. Rich, but not overpowering. Gets a little flat with time. Sour plum. Now more like a saison. It is somewhat one-dimensional. 

Finish: Sweet and fruity, but still with the somewhat beery funk. It’s different. Plums, some raspberries, and some dried fruit as well. Rasins and blueberries I’d say. Hints of grape soda. Same issue with the palate of getting flat with time. Curious. Just not as good as it started out for some reason. I think the lack of variety makes it feel repetitive after a while. Tastes a little artificial, too.

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Nose: Whoa. The color suggested it would be intense, but if anything it undersold it. Wavering between red wine and sherry at this point, but a heavy wine cask for sure. Berries, prunes, earth, and a touch of moss. More deep sherry aroma with water, or maybe I’m just getting past the alcohol. More earth and dried the second time around. Still a lot of alcohol.

Palate: Intense again, both in flavor and strength. This is hot. Now coming across as sherry. Some mocha, prunes, figs, and tobacco. Some sweetness to it, but nevertheless I think Oloroso rather than PX. Now I feel like I’m getting a hint of peat that I didn’t pick up from the nose. Even after what I thought was a lot of water, it’s hot. I’ll have to try to drown it. Gets a little more chocolatey, with a nice gingery bite. Nothing too different initially. The heat is hard to get past. With enough water it’s fairly conventional, an earthy more than fruity sherry cask.

Finish: Still hot; I’m going to have to try this with water. Some peppery spice along with the fruit flavors. Is there peat or not? Still hard to tell. Definitely some earthy funk to it, but that might be the sherry cask and not peat. After finally adding enough water, it’s more under control. Has to be over 60%. Sweeter and less spicy. Earthy, but now I’m not noticing peat. As before, very hot. Becomes manageable with water, but also nothing too special. 

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Guess: This is big and brash, in both flavor and ABV. Sherry cask I’m pretty sure about. I thought maybe peated initially, but now I’m leaning probably not. Over 60% ABV, maybe even close to 65%. I know Signatory had some jet fuel Bunnahabhains recently and I think some Glenlivets, too. Doesn’t seem like Glenlivet, so I’ll go with Bunnahabhain from Signatory, 12-13 years, sherry cask, and around 64%.    

Post-reveal thoughts: Ah, so it is peated, though only slightly! Explains why I kept wavering. Now I’ve learned Signatory also has some jet fuel Highland Park. It’s older than I’d thought, and I’m very surprised it’s a refill butt when it’s so strongly sherried. 64% on the nose, so I nailed the ABV as well as the bottler. Pretty pleased with how I did.     

Conclusion: Cask strength isn’t always ideal. I’ve had a few Scotches at 60%+ that don’t drink that way, but you absolutely feel it with this one. It’s always possible to add water and I did. That revealed a fairly ordinary sherry bomb, to the point where I was surprised it’s a refill cask. The cask is doing most of the talking here, and not saying anything terribly unique. 

Score: 74

Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)