October 27, 2014

A hotchpotch of Highland Park

We’ve got many, and I mean many HPs to taste. In theory, I should build a coherent flight, either a verticale, or only sherried versions, or only 15 years old, or only 1989s, or only new ones… And yet, we’ll do this completely at random, just for fun. The only thing that’s de rigueur when you’re doing this is to take your time, so that the influence of one dram over the next one is minimised.

Highland Park 15 yo 'Freya' (51.2%, OB, 2014)

I know, I'm very late. Apparently, Freya used to be the Norse goddess of love. Why not choose a pink bottle then, instead of this Flubber green? Colour: white wine. Nose: it is Highland Park au naturel, close to the barley, with some beer, some leaven, some mashed vegetables, some barley water, some almonds and then touches of melon skin (not the flesh), apple peelings and cut grass. I find it pretty austere and very ‘Northern Highlands’, and even a little old skool. With water: even more grains, as well as a little wood smoke. Notes of greengages bring a little fruitiness. Mouth (neat): a little pungent, quite peppery, acrid, with even more peelings and skins than in the nose. Plenty of nutmeg and ginger, probably from some rather active oak. Not a rounded, polished HP for sure. With water: more of all that, with also a little leather and leaves. Chewing tobacco. Finish: quite long, relatively smoky. Lemon, then more oaky spices in the aftertaste. Comments: I enjoy the ‘honesty’ in this, but I don’t find this green and smoky goddess of love particularly sexy. SGP:372 - 82 points.

Highland Park 20 yo 1994/2014 (50.9%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #0017, 2015 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: this is actually the style of the Freya, only with more peat and more aromatic herbs, such as dill, fennel or even chives. With water: starts to sauvignonise. Ha. Zesty lemons and lime and rocks and lemon balm and lemon-flavoured yoghurt. It’s got a vibrancy (I know) that wasn’t to be found in Freya in my opinion. Mouth (neat): not Freya at all this time, I’m finding more citrus, a little lemon squash, green bananas, not-too-ripe mangos and gooseberries. Very pleasant oily mouth feel, it’s a spirit with much depth. With water: a creamy fruitiness that sits between Littlemill and unsherried Longmorn. Tangerines, limes, peaches, melons… Finish: quite long, fruity, with a herbal backbone. Green tea flavoured with various fruits. Comments: a great distillate that has been given the opportunity to shine. Dear hogsheads! SGP:562 - 88 points.

Highland Park 24 yo 1986/2010 (46%, Mo Or Collection, bourbon hogshead, cask #2275, 300 bottles)

The promoters of this lovely collection that used to gather whiskies from absolutely all Scottish distilleries may have been right too early. Colour: white wine. Nose: well in the style of the 1994, but with a little more fatness, oils, wax, menthol… Drops of cough syrup plus lemon, green apples, lime… If find this quite splendid. Mouth: almost perfect. More years may have added some extra complexity, in this case notes of tobacco and liquorice, as well as a little tar on top of the expected fruit salad. Also more and more green herbs and a little Jägermeister, perhaps. Finish: quite long but maybe a little more jumbled, so to speak. The 1994 may have been better focused. Comments: loses a handful of points during the finish, but it remains a very lovely and relatively naked HP. SGP:462 – 87 points.

Highland Park 1989/2014 (49.4%, Càrn Mor, Celebration of the Cask, sherry hogshead, cask #3214, 258 bottles)

A completely different story, according to the colour… Colour: reddish mahogany. Nose: do you like chocolate, prunes and armagnac? And orange liqueurs, black raisins and crème de cassis? Then this bay’s for you. Having said that it’s void of any tertiary notes, no game, no meat, no tobacco, no minerals and no earth. Just prunes and chocolate – and affiliated aromas. Mouth: a little pencil shaving in the arrival, which suggests a newish cask, but other than that, all is fine, with a heavy sweet – but not too sweet – sherry blending well with the firm distillate. Chocolate again, prunes again, cherry liqueur, bitter oranges and, this time, pipe tobacco. It’s technically a sherry monster, but I find it balanced and even kind of fresh, thanks to a little menthol that comes out. Finish: quite long, maybe a tad drying. Bitter chocolate, grape skins. Comments: rich and expensive at 350 €. And a bit retro. SGP:461 - 87 points.

We may need to try to find another sherry monster after that one…

Highland Park 25 yo 1980/2005 (55.5%, OB for Germany, cask #7363)

Colour: lighter mahogany. Nose: yes! Textbook sherried HP goodness, complex and balanced, full of dried fruits and tarry smoke – and no traces of sulphur at all. Add honey, chocolate, rather cognac instead of armagnac, ripe peaches, pipe tobacco, old rancio, walnut wine, camphor, myrtle (a touch)… How lovely! With water: some earth and whiffs of brand new car. Plastic? More and more cigars after a few seconds, a cartload of Cubans. Mouth (neat): it’s a little rougher, a tad spritzig and rather medicinal, with a little antiseptic. And then, we experience the sherried cavalcade, but that would rather be jams this time, small berries, strawberries… Blackberry jam, anyone? Not quite a round and ample one, but I’m sure water will help. With water: all on teas now, it kept changing. Maybe a little cardboard too, but other than that, it’s almost pure black tea. Finish: long, with finer notes of oranges. Earl grey? Comments: this baby’s not that easy to follow. Quality’s very, very high, as expected, but I wouldn’t say it’s totally ‘evident’. I had hoped we’d jump over the 90-mark. SGP:562 - 89 points.

And a last one that should be big enough…

Highland Park 8 yo (57%, Gordon & MacPhail, screw cap, +/-1980)

There also was a slightly earlier version at ‘100 proof’, that I just love (WF 94 for an 8 years old.) Colour: gold, so lighter than earlier batches. Nose: just amazing. These are the old bottles to look for. What’s incredible is this coherence, this oneness so to speak. It’s not a string of aromas, it’s one and only aroma, with multiple dimensions. Does that make any sense? I’d say waxy dried figs and hundreds of other combos, all in the same vein. Water? What water? Mouth: huge. And smoky. Not as sherried as older versions, but perfect. Please call the anti-maltoporn brigade. Finish: extremely long. Comments: rejoice rejoice, I’m pretty speechless. SGP:453 - 92 points.

Nothing can climb over that one, session definitely over. But we’ll have more HP in the coming days.

Check the index of all Highland Park I've tasted so far



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