Tasting 4 young Highland parks and an older one

The fact that HP can be excellent at all ages is no question about, horrible intro, let's taste!












Highland Park 8yo 40% The Macphail's Collection, Gordon & Macphail

An alternative to the Connoisseur's Choice series? The color is golden. It smells of peat, tarry, seaweed, smoke, ashes, spirity, bitter licorice. The taste is heather, spirity, caramel, small peaty notes, salty, ginger, perfumy. A quite short aftertaste and all in all a rather short experience.

Young and raw-ish HP: 3.5


Highland Park 10yo 40% The Whisky Connoisseur

TWC usually bottles at CS, perhaps there's a valid reason this one's bottled at 40%abv? The color is amber golden. It smells sweet, caramel, honey, cocoa, peaty, bitter, herbal, medicinal. The taste is sweet, spicy, onions, vinegar, maize, peppery, spirity, also this one is rather short and lacks a finish.

Same as the 8yo: 3.5


Highland Park 8yo 1986-1994 43% The Ultimate, Van Wees cask#92 btl.318/600

Another low strength youngster, will this fare any better? The color is amber. It smells of leather and tobacco, oak, sawdust, spice, rum, burnt notes, camphor, syrup and honey. This is a vast improvement, at least on the nose. The taste is herbal, spirity, bitter, dark chocolate, green olives, raisins, dry, hay, salty, lime juice.

Certainly an unlikely, but just as interesting HP. One to try!: 5.5


Highland Park 20yo 1975-1995 43% Signatory Vintage cask#1294,1295 btl.1842/2080

20 years on oak should make for an interesting Highland Park. A shame that watering down old whisky was that easy back in the days. Well, its not any harder today but you know what I mean. The color is golden. It smells butter, honey peat smoke, cigars, oranges, vanilla, malt syrup. This a profile likely that you'll recognize in many older HP's. More caramel as time goes by. The taste is sweet, vanilla, raisins, peat smoke, oily, rich, cauliflower, rhubarb, cream, sweet yoghurt, zesty, grapefruit, sea salt, shrimps. Yes, this is good HP! The finish is peppery, burnt notes, gingerbread, honey and peat.

Get one of these before they're gone, great stuff: 8.5


Highland Park 13yo 1992-2005 50% James MacArthur's Old Master's

I've never had a Highland Park from James MacArthur's before, should be good stuff. Golden color. It smells of leather and tobacco, shoe polish, waxy, diesel, perfume, chili oil, cinnamon. The taste is sweet, vanilla, bananas, mushrooms, honey, mango chutney, sweet'n'sour sauce, port wine reduction, pears, sour leaves. Superb stuff once again from J.McA, I wish they still released as many whiskies as berfoe, they might do, but them bottles goes elsewhere if that.

I bet this comes from a bourbon cask, and what a cask!: 8.5



Next tasting: Longmorn Distillery