Highland Park 12 yo 2005/2018 (64.4%, OB for Aberdeen Airport, cask #3631, refill butt, 610 bottles)
64.4%!!! For an airport? Does the aviation industry’s definition of hazardous liquids not apply in Scotland? Colour: gold. Nose: hot varnish, cider apples, toffee apple, pear eau de vie and baking soda. Clean and pure but also undeniably tough. No naked flames please! With water: much fresher, lots of petrichor, wet leaves, coal dust, hessian, clover and hints of menthol tobacco. Perhaps some barley wine and an inkling of something coastal like beach sand. Mouth: lemon infused cooking oils, sweet pastries, cough drops, a little earthy turmeric. Still a beast! With water: much better! Toffee chews, chocolate limes, ointments, herbal teas, cough syrups, tarragon and some bitter peach schnapps. Finish: good length, rather earthy, spicy and increasingly meaty and heathery. Comments: It’s good whisky, but it feels quite technical and it’s undeniably extremely tough at times. Something to pour a single dram of for some intellectual jousting with pals but it isn’t something I can imagine quaffing with ease.
SGP: 471 - 80 points.

Highland Park 12 yo 2004/2017 (63.1%, OB for The Bishops Arms - Sweden, cask #6712, European oak sherry butt, 492 bottles)
63.1%, always nice to go downhill... Colour: ruby/amber. Nose: much more direct and classical sherry influence here. A mix of walnut oil and sweet cream sherry. Also pipe tobacco, pomegranate molasses, chocolate sauce, red fruit teas and old rope piled in a musty wine cellar. It’s a modern type of sherry but it feels clean and rather precise which works well with the HP distillate. With water: damson jam, prune juice, spiced plum sauce, fruit loaf and a little soy sauce flying the coastal flag in the background. You can feel the spice of active oak simmering just beneath the surface which really says ‘modern sherry cask’. However, it remains pretty well integrated. Mouth: lots of strawberry liqueur, mint jelly, raspberry cordial, blood orange, rosehip tea, heather ale, treacle, hessian, mint choc chip and nice meaty / earthy density at its heart. Wears its strength pretty lightly. With water: meatier and more chocolatey. Dark chocolate fondant, chilli-infused dark chocolate, various meat stocks, more hessian and a pretty fat leathery quality. Finish: good length. Meaty, beefy and with hints of bouillon, caraway, hot paprika, black tea and herbal bitters. Some nice red fruitiness as well. Comments: It’s a pretty modern style of sherry from an active cask but it has worked well in this instance. If you like things big, spicy and relatively ‘in yer face’. 
SGP: 572 - 86 points. 

Highland Park 13 yo 2004/2018 (64.1%, OB for Belgium, cask #6577, refill butt, 594 bottles)
64.1% this time! Mind you, in Belgium those shrimp croquettes won’t deep fry themselves... Colour: light amber. Nose: this one is a little more easy on the approach. Some grass, green tea, cocktail bitters and even some rather elegant fruit notes of papaya, green apple and melon. Also a wee hint of agave nectar and runny honey. With water: more towards classical HP now, developing along lines of breads, heather ale, barley water, graphite, wood spices, pollens and some sandalwood. Mouth: surprisingly green and fruity, notes of lemon peel, freshly baked breads, chopped herbs, herbal teas, gooseberry and some sweet cereals. Surprisingly easy given the strength. With water: nicely syrupy in texture, still these ripe green fruits, sweet cereals, putty, olive oil, grapefruit and cough mixtures. Finish: long, sooty, oily, hints of lemon, caraway, bay leaf and even some very light phenolics. Comments: Someone got up bright and early in Belgium to select this cask. Feels like the distillery character is very much in the driving seat here, which I love.
SGP: 662 - 88 points.

Highland Park 13 yo 2004/2018 (62.5%, OB for VELIER, cask #6220, refill butt, 534 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: hot clay, plastic and strong black tea! A pretty hot nose at first, lots of spiky alcohol. Takes a good couple of minutes or so for the heat to blow away, then there’s some leafy tobacco notes, crushed walnuts and cherry kirsch. Needs water I suspect. With water: plain brown bread, some cough syrup, rather jammy with some syrupy red fruit notes. Still a bit tough I feel. Mouth: cherry jam on brown bread. Seriously, there’s quite a lot of cherries in this one for some reason. Boiled cherry sweets and maraschino notes. Also strong black coffee, bitter chocolate, toasted almonds and plain old marzipan. Not as brutal as on the nose at first. Some sweet pastries and a little olive oil. With water: there’s an acrid edge and the overall impression is still one of heat, biting wood spice and this general jammy quality. Not totally convinced by this one. Finish: Medium and rather on charred wood, some menthol cigarettes and black pepper. Some wee floral hints in the aftertaste. Comments: I found this one pretty tough to be honest. It’s decent whisky, but you feel that you’re going uphill. We’re back at Aberdeen airport it would seem...
SGP: 571 - 80 points.

Highland Park 12 yo 2003/2016 (58.1%, OB for Germany, cask #5886, 1st fill European oak sherry butt, 630 bottles)
Colour: mahogany. Nose: a different ballpark! This is all fig jam, mulling spices such as cloves and cinnamon, some gingerbread, chopped dates and sultanas in muesli and some herbal and menthol notes such as tea tree oil and old herbal liqueurs. Some red fruits as well such as cranberries and cherry syrup. There’s some synchronicity in the sherry but it’s globally a much more approachable and gentle style with a nice degree of complexity and balance between the spices and fruits. Develops towards this classic fruit cake and toasted nuts profile with a little time. With water: evolves towards a more bready and earthy profile. Leather tobacco pouch, some aged calvados and hints of hessian and cigar boxes. Mouth: Muscovado sugar, a sooty edge, some beefy meaty tones and lots of things like sultanas, dark chocolate, prune juice and pomegranate molasses. Nicely rich and syrupy in texture. With water: chocolate sauce, pu erh tea, tiger balm, bitter herbal extracts, more hessian, a little black pepper and camphor. Still got this excellent syrupy texture going on. Finish: long, back to the spices, lots of drying earthy notes, some black tea style tannin and walnut liqueur. Comments: I feel there’s a fair bit of quality variation in these HPs even though their general profiles can be similar (note the identical SGP to cask 5886) and the impression I’m getting is that it derives from the casks rather than the distillate. This one was excellent!
SGP: 571 - 88 points

Highland Park 12 yo 2003/2016 (58.3%, OB for Braunstein & Friends Whisky Fair, cask #5878, 1st fill European oak sherry butt, 648 bottles)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: deep and chocolatey at first. This slightly sweet chocolate sauce note that morphs nicely into damp tobacco, earthen floor dunnage and lots of prunes, sultanas and fig jam. A hint of coffee, some strawberry wine, walnut oil - lovely stuff! With water: game meats, wool, cedar wood, nutmeg and cloves. Develops this lovely leather and chocolate tango. Mouth: spiced dark fruit jams mixed with gravelly and earthy notes, bitter herbal extracts, dark chocolate infused with chilli and some more savoury characteristics such as bouillon and miso. Perhaps some mushroom powder as well. Lovely even balance between sweet and savoury aspects. With water: lots of dark fruits, soft brown sugar, five spice, some Jägermeister and plum sauce. The spices really dance around in this one meaning it always feels lively and awake. If you see what I mean? Finish: long, leathery, meaty, earthy, sooty, lots of tobacco leaf and black coffee. Leaves this feeling of fatness in the mouth. Comments: We’re pretty close to 90 here, the weight, texture, balance and power were all great and the sherry had an old school edge to it.
SGP: 661 - 89 points.

Highland Park 13 yo 2003/2017 (59.7%, OB for Kaupang - Norway, cask #5709, refill butt, 552 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather prickly but some nice notes of golden syrup, fresh cereals and even a very light streak of peat along with limestone and pebbles. This one feels a lot more Highland Parky with these notes of heather honey, light coastal tones, earl grey tea, lemon peel and sandalwood. Aromatic, rather complex and nicely balanced between the seashore and more earthy characteristics. With water: lightly sooty, coastal, rather fresh, lots of sandalwood, soft leathery notes, waxed canvas and a pebble-strewn minerality.  Mouth: an elegant thread of honey sweetness, heather ales, sooty notes, cereals, coastal freshness and lightly bitter lemon pith. Also plain oatmeal and hints of herbal cough medicine. With water: perfect with water now! Runny honey sweetness, herbal ointments, lemon cough drops, barley sugar, green tea and a lovely syrupy and oily texture. Finish: long, elegantly medical, umami, salty, light mineral touches, sunflower oil and some notes of aged barley wine. Comments: This one feels closer to many of the indy HPs, which is no bad thing as it also expresses a more unvarnished and raw distillery character. Which is something that I feel is - ironically - missing from some of these other official single casks.
SGP: 562 - 89 points.

Highland Park 13 yo 2003/2016 (60.3%, OB for Dannebrog, cask #1933, refill butt, 648 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: a leafy and elegant sherry. Hints of treacle, liquorice, ginger cake, spiced orange liqueur, various fruit cordials and a handful of salted peanuts. Clean, fresh and rather interesting - in a good way. We’re treading and finely balanced line between distillate and cask here and I find it quite captivating. With water: lemon cough drops, hessian, various shades of medicine, herbal qualities, soot, heather ales. Once again we are pleasingly close to ‘Highland Park’ flavour. Mouth: well-rounded, spicy, earthy, mushroomy, plenty of dark, stewed fruits and a rather leathery and salty sherry profile. The salty edge really becomes quite pronounced. There’s also a gamey meaty quality - cured meats and hints of old pinot noir. Hessian, bitter herbal notes, very dark chocolate and fruit-flavoured tobaccos. With water: mineral oil, salted liquorice, prunes, plum sauce, damp earth, menthol tobacco, herbal toothpaste - excellent! Finish: long, sweet barley sugars, boiled citrus sweets, camphor, chocolate lime sweets (rather old school confectionary this finish), tarragon and mint chocolate. Comments: Another excellent cask that really puts the HP character front and centre, although we’re still not quite at the 90 mark in my wee book.
SGP: 662 - 89 points.

Highland Park 13 yo 2002/2016 (58.6%, OB for Sweden, cask #6403, 1st fill European oak sherry hogshead, 300 bottles)
In theory, when it comes to Highland Park, you should always be able to trust a Viking... Colour: deep amber / rosewood. Nose: Indeed, lots of dense, sticky, dark fruits stewed in cognac, caramelised brown sugar, darjeeling tea, bitter chocolate and hints of leaf mulch. Sticky toffee pudding, date molasses, sultanas and Guinness cake. With water: evolves towards things like root beer, cola syrup, pine resin and some very dense herbal medicines. More tar extracts, dunnage earthiness and mint liqueur. Wonderful stuff. Mouth: superb fatness and an opulently rich sherry. Again this sense of syrupy, dense dark fruitiness. Plum sauce, liquorice, natural tar extract, herbal teas, mint sauce and walnut wine. There’s also a kind of Asian themed spiciness going on with five spice, star anise and toasted fennel seed. Hessian and some top notch dark chocolate as well. With water: hessian cloth, dark fruit cordials, plum jam, hardwood resins, coal dust, some bitter dark chocolate, salted liquorice, more tar again and sarsaparilla. Finish: long, chocolatey, leathery, tarry, lots of black pepper, dried herbs, soot, caraway, mint and tarragon. Gets increasingly liqueurish in texture. Comments: No equivocations here. This is big, fat 90 point material! Lucky Swedes! Great HP distillate in a grade A sherry cask = giddily pleasurable juice.
SGP: 672 - 90 points.

Highland Park 14 yo 2002/2016 (59.7%, OB for Sweden, cask #2121, 1st fill American oak sherry butt, 600 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: lean, spicy and with a nice rising sweetness. You do indeed notice the American oak with this syrupy vanilla quality that sits just beneath the surface. Lots of ginger, nutmeg, fruit loaf, almonds, honeyed oatmeal, crystalised fruits, golden syrup and heather honey. Playfully sweet and fruity in a way that you don’t often find with HP. I really like it. With water: glace cherries, candied citrus fruit peel, cream soda, cough sweets and red fruit teas. Mouth: cloves, ointments, olive oil, herbal medicines, sunflower seeds, spicy rye breads, runny honey mixed with Marmite (probably some people’s worst nightmare but I like it), some warming paprika and pot pourri. Gets breadier with notes of freshly baked brown bread, some salty butter and sweet fruit cordials. With water: notes of strawberry wine, young calvados, red apples, tarragon, herbal toothpaste and mint julep. Finish: long, very herbal, getting slightly bitter, aniseed, ointments, cough medicines and some salty liquorice. Comments: You really notice the difference between American and European oak with these HPs I feel. I think the sweeter dimension really works well here. Lots of pleasure to be had.
SGP: 651 - 89 points.

Highland Park 15 year old 2002/2018 (61%, OB for 20th anniversary World Of Whisky Switzerland, cask #1937, 1st fill American oak sherry puncheon, 570 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: slightly sharp at first nosing. Acrylic paint, some tart red fruit, grapefruit, putty and things eventually begin to settle down and the whole gets a little creamier and easier. Some nice dry earthy notes, leaf mulch, milk chocolate and cinnamon flavoured breakfast cereals. With water: mixed pulces, hummus, chopped parsley - still on this slightly leathery and earthy profile only more tertiary and complex now with water. A wee peppery watercress note as well. Mouth: prickly heat which brings to mind some fruity red chilli and lightly smoked paprika but also some red fruit jams, strawberry cordial, lime zest and pickled ginger. Good and nicely different from some of the others above - again you can feel the thumbprint of the American oak with these sweeter, gingery spices. With water: cooking oils, pine resin, crystallised fruits, dates, fig jam and a slice of Dundee cake. Finish: good length and nicely warming with a continuation of leather, earth, soot, orange peel and five spice. Comments: Quite simply, very good HP that’s not earth shattering by any means but does offer many easy pleasures. Needs water though, I’d say.
SGP: 661 - 87 points.

Highland Park 16 yo 2001/2017 (61.2%, OB Dalecarlia - Sweden, cask #385, European oak sherry butt, 576 bottles)
Colour: deep amber / rosewood. Nose: Big, sharp, concentrated and punchy. Almost like roof pitch and raw tar blitzed together. Beyond that though there’s red fruit cordials, strawberry jam, fruity black coffee, hazelnut liqueur, cornbread and mushroom soup. Pretty extreme but also very good. With water: suddenly very chocolatey. Lots of praline, coco pops and a sly gamey, meaty side that comes in with a big hit of umami in the back of it. Slight sawdusty note as well though. Mouth: pure treacle, salted liquorice, cola syrups, root beer, herbal ointments, wood char and bbq embers, burnt heather and some old, dark shilling ales. Immense peppery heat, some nippy tannins and yet it manages to still feel balanced despite the weight aspects on all sides. With water: lots of coffee, red fruit jams, bitter chocolate, herbal cough medicine and things like jasmine, aniseed and liquorice. Finish: long, menthol tobacco, earthy, cured meats, bouillon stock, dark soy sauce and smoky bacon. Comments: Another great selection by our Swedish friends. Do they have their own door to the warehouse or something? This one definitely needs water but is generally pretty superb.
SGP: 662 - 89 points.