Highland Park with a dirty edge
Highland Park has certainly returned to calmer waters with their new line of bottlings emphasising the beautiful colour of the whisky. Also, the Highland Park Heather remains a strong contestant for my favorite new whisky of 2026. The distillery has forever been a favourite among independent bottlers, even though the name started disappearing from labels around 10 to 15 years ago, replaced by Unknown Orkney (leaving doubt if you would be drinking Scapa, but not really) and Whitlaw (no doubt here). The distillery is still one of these holy grails to get into the bag in terms of visiting. One of these days, I have to travel to Orkney! But until then, we travel via the bottle.
Via my dear friend Emy I could taste some new spirit. New make spirit from February 2010 that is, so we could be drinking this stuff as a 16 years old today. A rather dirty spirit actually, brine, crusty mud, warm faeces, dry hay and then, all of a sudden, a hint of chocolate. The heather component is also strong in the Highland Park new make spirit. Beautiful, even though I myself am more fond of fruity new makes. The drinking experience is that of a sweetened piece of candy, with hints of damp earth. The peaty element is quite subdued. In any case, all this is very different from other new make spirits, and I love it equally. You suck the soul of a distillery out of your glass!
Let us take a look at two properly matured Highland Park expressions then!
Whitlaw 2019, Distilled at Highland Park, bottled at 54,7 % abv by Le Renard Liquids
First things first: Distilled in October 2019 and bottled in March 2026 makes this a 6 years old Highland Park. Matured in a refill PX Barrel # 217A that produced 124 bottles. The terrific label comes with the description – DAF 600: “I parked my car in the Highlands”.
Upon Sipping: Oh yeah, we know Le Renard a little, and this Whitlaw follows in the footsteps of the Braeval samples we tasted before: a creamy nose, leaning towards hints of gunpowder and Mediterranean spices. Hints of hop, before it fades into caramel and deep dark fudge. When we take a sip, we finally recognise more of the Highland Park character. Spices, heather, earthy peat and sweet flavours from the cask. The only thing missing is a bit more balance. One has to wonder what the benefit is of bottling this stuff quite young. It has a kick though, that cannot be denied. Water brings out a very silky mouthfeel, like letting chocolate melt on your tongue. A nice collection of spices remain.
Word to the Wise: A Highland Park off the charts here. I have some difficulty finding the distillery character in this one. The talkative cask and abundance of spices make up for a lot. A HP for completists.
Score: 82 points.
Highland Park 18 years old, vintage 2006, bottled at 52 % abv by Signatory Vintage
First things first: This Highland Park in the Ibisco decanter was bottled on 18 October 2024. Matured in hogsheads, no information on the number of bottles produced.
Upon Sipping: Not the clean Highland Park I expected to nose when I saw the pedigree of the bottle. This is rather farmy and dirty, with quite some gunpowder. Then comes some creamy notes, churned butter, and even a hint of soap. The peat is very naked, with a clear heathery signature. Taking a sip, a pleasant dry smoke covers the palate, with hints of stewed apples and dark chunks of chocolate. The balance is quite good. With water, we break out more citrus notes, but nothing too strong to make it feel like an Islay dram. The farmland smells become stronger with some breathing and settling in the glass. Grassy notes, lots of malty flavours, dust bags. To drink it has become very pleasant, with a strong vanilla cream taste running through the smoke and oak. A nice, white pepper bite on the finish guides this Highland Park to the exit. Some of these elements prove the family relationship between the two bottles tasted today! And also, the link with the new make is very clear, when you mature in neutral casks like Signatory did.
Word to the Wise: Not the most complex Highland Park ever tasted, but the balance is superb and it offers a side of the distillery DNA I do not often pick up. Maybe a tad too much ashes for me to deeply enjoy, but good stuff.
Score: 83 points.