Highland Park 18yo
Vintage Branding release 2006 - 2017 | 43% ABV
Score: 5/10
Average. In a Good Way.
TL;DR
Nothing bad, except it drinks like less than a third of its current price
Dodging (hairy) bullets
In my last review of Nc’Nean Organic Single Malt, I referred to some established distilleries as “far off my radar.” A few examples were given such as Glengoyne, Glendronach and Lagavulin. But some are so far off my radar that they don’t even show up on the mental map when looking outside of that radar.
Yet sometimes, by chance or luck, I still come into contact with such distilleries and I find I’m grateful for these opportunities. As a perfect example it so happened that I was recently gifted some substantial dregs of this Highland Park 18yo, with about a quarter still in the bottle.
Over the summer my girlfriend and I spent a few days puppy-sitting our former ballet teacher’s dog. A sweet, curly, remarkably vocal projectile of unhinged chaotic energy named Bruno.
That former ballet teacher deserves a mention by the way. In our curriculum at the conservatoire we had three main disciplines that were the spearpoints of our training. These are aimed at creating a version of what the industry calls a ‘Triple Threat’; performers who can sing, act, and dance. Guess what my weak point was.
We were blessed with capable singing teachers who gave us constructive compliments and feedback such as, but not limited to “What a terrible day to have ears.” Or “Will you lock up while I run to the station and see if I can headbutt a train?” Or if you had a morning lesson on a Monday; “Thank you, yes…a terrifying start of my week.”
We were also taught by some great acting coaches, each more eccentric than the other. Dance lessons were divided into three sub-disciplines: caractère (think of polka, tarantelle, tango, etc.), modern/show-/jazz-dance, and ballet, which was by far the most demanding for me. After two years of lessons from an (admittedly funny and kind-hearted) Finnish woman who repeatedly told me: “Mason, your arms must open like a rose at dawn. Yours open like a thorn bush!”, we got a new, next level teacher in the third year. She was a true ballet teacher.
Strict, serious, straightforward, honest, and disciplined, but with a gentle, big heart. And though her lessons allowed for the least amount of fooling around, she was one of the teachers we grew to appreciate most of all. One year after we graduated, she retired and is, I believe, dearly missed by all. I didn’t suddenly become a star ballet dancer, but I did learn a lot and was able to hold my own on the floor.
After we took care of her high velocity air alarm, err, I mean dog, a few times; she and her husband invited us over for an elaborate and very tasty lunch.
Towards the end of the afternoon, the man of the house presented this bottle to me. He had apparently seen a few boxes and tubes on my shelf - when he came to pick up the dog once - and explained that his sister was a whisky drinker. Whenever she came over, he’d make sure he had something nice in the house to pour her. She hadn’t visited in a while and he himself doesn’t really get on with whisky, so he figured I might be interested.
Suitably surprised by such selfless generosity, I thanked him dearly and later that night I decided that I couldn’t go to bed without trying a little dram first.
Review
Highland Park 18yo, official bottling, 2006 - 2017 branding, 43% ABV
£n/a secondary - or dusties - only.
I have been told that back in the day, around 2014, you could buy this in the UK for £65. These days Highland Park’s own website provides us with an RRP of £140. In my market the cheapest I could find was €123,75 which was a sale on an eye-watering original price of €165. On multiple websites you can get it for €140-ish, sometimes a tenner less. This, remember, is for 43% ABV whisky and thus chill-filtered to within an inch of its life. See? Off my radar for good reason.
It must be said though that not only the big producers are that greedy. Ever since Arran’s 18yo was reintroduced and came back in stock it has been priced at €145 at multiple retailers, who have all had it on a discount of some €10/15 since day one. I presume that’s because they’re simply not shifting the stock, certainly not at full price.
Anyway, back to the Highland Park; I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. My only other experience with Highland Park was a slightly disappointing bottle of their 10yo expression, so I was excited to give this mature expression a try.
It’s a dusty, this thing. The cap of the tube was filled with dust and traces of wear over time. The bottle itself showed the same traces of weathered age. The cork was fully intact, smelled good, and still sealed everything off well, so I wasn’t concerned about possible leaking, over-oxidisation, or corking. It has been open for a few years and some quick googling tells me that this branding of Highland Park 18 was used between 2006 and 2017.
Score: 5/10
Average. In a Good Way
TL;DR
Nothing bad, except it drinks like less than a third of its current price
Nose
Really quite soft. Warm baking spices. Liquorice. A whiff of aniseed. The tiniest hint of smoke - barely noticeable. Citrus. Orange zest on a piece of milk chocolate. Some four years ago I had a Dalmore 12yo and this nose transports me right back into that every time. It’s that same sort of flat, emulsified sherry influence; like all the aromas are only scratching the surface. With a small teaspoon of water added it comes alive a bit and adds a nostalgic little salmiak note I used to get from Haribo Salty Rows.
Palate
Coffee, and an aftertaste of very dark chocolate; flat citrus. A bit ashy on the finish. A bit flat. It also comes across as younger than its years and I think that might be because of the way it’s presented. With water added, like on the nose, it jumps out a bit more. Some sharpness creeps in, but that’s actually a welcome departure from what is otherwise a fairly muted experience. The sweet, fruity sherry notes are dialled up a bit, but are still fairly simple and emulsified. There’s liquorice here too.
The Dregs
I think that when this was available for £65 it might have been a fairly good value option to get to grips with some mature Highland Park. I don’t know if Highland Park’s 18yo has changed a lot since this was bottled, but even if it has become three times as good (which I doubt), I still wouldn’t pay anything near RRP for it.
This whisky reminds me of Heineken. A mass market beer that tastes vaguely like beer, and that’s it. (I know that as a Dutchman I could be proud of our country being responsible for what might be the world’s most famous beer, but truth be told, most of The Netherlands avoids it when possible.) This feels a little bit like that. It’s a sherry matured whisky that tastes like sherry matured whisky and that’s pretty much it.
That’s not to say it’s a bad whisky. You just get the sense that they haven’t given it the attention it needs or deserves.
And then at the point of bottling, just like Bruno, it was neutered.
Score: 5/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. MM
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