Tastes

Nose: Apple, pear, soft orange notes. There’s a delicate, sweet floral presence like honeysuckle and a background aroma of malted cereal. The balance between the malt and grain whiskies is very well done. Palate: Sweet mild arrival with orchard fruits, a touch of orange oil and a hint of ginger. The development is slight and does not present a great deal more, apart from some vanilla and oak from the barrels. There is a trace of ashy smoke on the palate that you don’t notice on the nose, but it is very reserved at first, and towards the finish a mild tannic bitterness shows up. The texture is a little creamy with a silky quality – that’s the grain whisky speaking. Finish: Medium. Tart green apple, kiwifruit, mint and marzipan. This is a “big” whisky for a blended scotch, and it’s significantly superior to standard J&B scotch. There is an unmistakable family resemblance so the recipe is similar, but the components used here are much more refined and show 15 years of maturation in reasonable barrels. The nose is fresh, crisp and has good body and a pleasant character with no intrusive ethanol. The palate is eminently quaffable and with subsequent sips you notice the smoky background notes more and more. The finish is moderate, but surprisingly longer than expected, and several tart flavours come forward in the aftertaste. These are not unpleasant, however, and provide agreeable balance. It’s not a particularly complex whisky and may be a disappointment to those who favour big, bold single-malt drams. However it more than holds its own against other premium price blends such as Dewars 18, Old Parr 18 and so on. I found myself reaching for this more than I expected and with a splash of soda water it’s a satisfying and relaxing late-night dram. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25)

Nose (neat): Honey, cereal, grape juice. The nose is very tight and narrow when neat and there is a sharp, spirity hit. Nose (watered): The same aromas but deeper in tone and more homogeneous. Water takes the edge off the alcohol presence but also reveals how little is going on here. After some time in the glass a golden syrup note emerges and after a considerable time the nose becomes quite attractive. Palate (neat): Hot, tingly spices, almost burning in intensity. Lots of ginger, hot cinnamon and pepper. The development does not show much change but towards the finish a shiny, copper metallic note shows up. The texture is dry and flinty. Palate (watered): Dilution tames the intense spicy heat but also strips most of the character away whilst revealing a sour, grassy and bitter presence. Finish: Medium/short. White grape juice and dry white wine in the aftertaste. With water the aftertaste turns sour. Disappointing. I attended one of the initial tastings of Amber Lane whisky a few months ago and was impressed by some of their expressions. I did note a youthful lack of depth in general, but I was still sufficiently taken by two of their range to buy one bottle of each. Mrs Cascode subsequently bought me this limited release expression and I was keenly anticipating it, but when I opened it last weekend I was dismayed by how singularly simplistic and awkward it is. The nose is average-to-good in quality but unbelievably tight when first poured. I could sense hardly anything from a glencairn pour and I had to pull out an old-school blender's glass for nosing before I could get anything out of it. The palate is nothing special and the aggressive heat masks sour grassy notes which show up under dilution, which is essential for enjoying this dram. I can only assume that the botrytis Semillon cask that was used for finishing acted in a particularly negative way, adding nothing good to the distillate and sucking away what character it did have like an oaken vampire. I would still encourage anyone who gets the chance to taste Amber Lane whiskies to do so because they make some very good expressions, but do yourself a favour and skip this one. "Average" : 77/100 (2.5 stars)

Nose: Ginger, honey, orange marmalade, dried fruit, vanilla essence, a little clove. Palate: Sweet, mild arrival with honey, vanilla nougat, raspberry coulis and apricot Danish. Leathery malt emerges in the development along with tropical fruits, toffee and cacao. The texture is neutral, but the palate is moreish. Finish: Medium: There is a sustained bittersweet orange and milk chocolate note. This is nothing like I expected. It’s a light, elegant, sweet and easy to drink malt that shows very restrained sherry cask influence (which is not a bad thing). The profile is not particularly complex, but everything works extremely well in combination. The palate follows the nose closely and there are no surprises here, just a well-constructed, soft and highly approachable whisky. Don’t add water, it is superfluous. I don’t understand the name. Yes, I do enjoy the occasional cigar and yes I did partake while enjoying my second pour of this whisky (for … science). However it is no better matched to cigars than any other single malt, and for me anyway a good cognac beats any whisky hands-down when it comes to pairing with tobacco, but meh, that's just my taste and no criticism of this dram. The only issue I have with this whisky is the price, which is outrageous. “Very Good” “ 86/100 (4 stars)

Nose: Leather, lemon, honey, a light waft of wildflowers. Some furtive sherry cask aromas in the background. After resting in the glass I noticed hay, earth, machine oil and a briny maritime quality. Nosing this is like walking through a newly harvested field beside the sea on a sunny day. Palate: Sweet, malty arrival with morello cherries and papaya. A touch of ginger together with grassy herbal notes in the development. A scritch of black pepper and smoked capsicum, and towards the finish the sweet character returns. Whisky with progression – yay! There is a zesty citrus and spice quality and the texture is lightly oily. Finish: Medium. Black tea with a mild spicy sweet citric aftertaste. This one flew right under my radar when it first came out and I've ignored it for a decade, but I’m very happy I finally got around to tasting it, and even happier that it is still available as a core-range product. The nose gains a dusty floral aroma with water but it loses more than it gains. The neat nose on this is lovely so don’t bruise it. Water develops a creaminess on the palate but it also elevates the spice notes above the base malty character, which is a pity. All in all, take this one neat. A word to the wise … are Hazelburn, Kilkerran or Ben Nevis scarce in your neck of the woods? Give this a try. Tasted from a 30ml sample. My glass is empty now and I want another pour – bottle ordered without hesitation. “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Nose: Warm sherry-tinged sweet smoke, musky raisins, herbal notes, a touch of honey, leather and dark ale or stout. After a while a lemon aroma comes forward and there is a fresh, coastal quality throughout. With the addition of water I get mashed “nips and neeps” (turnip and rutabaga to you foreigners) which might sound awful but it’s a delicious vegetal note. The dry glass aroma is classic Highland Park smoky honeypot. Palate: Oily smoke with spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and pepper), developing into fruity flavours (stewed apple with cloves, dates and figs) with a hint of vanilla, salted caramel and liquorice. The texture is oily and mouth-coating. The addition of water softens the spice notes just a little and brings out sweetness. It also changes the character of the smoke, making it softer and giving it more texture and an agreeable “mouth-filling” quality. Finish: Medium/long. Fruity smoke. A little leafy walnut-skin bitterness in the aftertaste but the final impression is of ale. Water brings a hint of sherry to the aftertaste. Highland Park goes slightly Islay, and does it pretty well. This one is a little more smoky than most Highland Park expressions and the quality of the smoke is more akin to Islay maritime than Orcadian maritime, but the smoke does not overpower either the distillate or the sherry cask influences. Water is not essential but highly recommended as it reveals facets of both nose and palate that you will otherwise miss. This obviously has a foundation of younger whisky, I’d guess 5-8 years maybe, however there is clearly some older spirit in the blend as well which is contributing depth and fullness to the profile. There is certainly nothing about it that screams lack of maturity and it’s definitely better than the earlier Valkyrie release in this series. The only issue I have is with the price, which is just a little steep. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Nose: Apricot, tropical fruit salad, leather, coffee, malt extract, chocolate. Over time the nose develops dried fruit, baked banana and a note of tobacco. When watered, the leather and tobacco aromas are intensified and both orange and charred oak become apparent. Water harmonizes the nose but a drop too much will render it homogeneous and flat, so take care. Palate: A particularly spicy arrival with fresh ginger, hot cinnamon, anise and black pepper. Honey, oak, dark chocolate, caramel and mocha appear in the development but any more delicate flavours that may be present are masked by the strong tannins. Water improves the palate by modulating the spiky spices while bringing out red fruits and uncovering the spirit’s complexity. Finish: Medium/long. The big spice presence from the palate lingers into the aftertaste where it gives way finally to bittersweet malt. The finish is shorter if the whisky is watered but it makes the entire palate much friendlier. Water also evolves very pleasant milk and dark chocolate notes in the aftertaste. An interesting whisky but overly spicy for my palate. There is a lot of oak influence (too much in my opinion) and it makes the palate almost buzz with intensity. This is a boorish whisky that shouts at you for attention. The nose is very good either neat or diluted but for me the palate is flawed without dilution. Although this causes the nose to lose definition it allows more subtle flavours to surface, and this improves the overall experience. I was not very impressed when I initially tried it neat, but with a good dash of water I began to warm to it. This is the first time I’ve tasted Balblair since they ceased releasing vintage expressions and moved to a fixed core range of age-statement single malts. At the asking price there is no way I’d be buying this one. The official tasting notes and rating here on Distiller are pretty much on the mark if the whisky is only tasted neat, but I think it's worth a couple of percentage points extra once properly diluted. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Above Average” : 80/100 (3 stars)

Nose: Oloroso sherry, maritime brine, fresh-cut hay, demerara sugar, cardamom, cumin, ginger, fenugreek, cinnamon and mint. There is a smoky note but it is initially hidden by a spirity, ethanol presence. This dissipates fairly quickly resulting in a sweet nose, but it’s spicy sweet and the signature Highland Park orange aromas are missing in action. The addition of water evolves more herbal notes. Palate: A spicy, briny arrival with tannins, ginger and pepper being prominent. Salt-water taffy, marmalade and currents in the development. The texture is full, a little drying but oily. The smoke notes begin in the early development and are quite prominent. A dash of water softens the palate and brings out further vegetal and herbal notes but also finds otherwise hidden orange liqueur flavours. Water also modulates the texture and profile making the whisky creamier and sweeter. Finish: Medium/long. Herbal, smoky, woody and spicy with soft tannins in the aftertaste. Water makes the finish softer and sweeter. A big whisky to finish today’s lineup of six Highland Parks, but for me this was the least impressive of the bunch. It’s certainly a demonstrative whisky but I felt it exchanged the nuance and fruity juiciness common to all the other expressions for rather ordinary spice notes, and consequently it seems a little simplistic and inferior in profile. This was the only whisky of the day where I felt water was required, and in my opinion the dram was much improved by dilution. It’s by no means a bad whisky, in fact it is a good one, but not one that is to my taste and I would not want to buy a bottle. I also found the official tasting notes curious and very different to my experience (for what that’s worth). Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Nose: An excellently subtle amalgam of honey, sherry and mild sooty smoke. Vanilla and sherry oak cask in the background but neither is too forward, the sweet top notes being allowed to sing without interruption. Dried fruits, malt and a dash of orange liqueur that grows in intensity over time. Fragrant, heady floral tones. This is lovely – I could nose it all day and it just gets better with time. Palate: Sweet, full and rich on the arrival with notes of old orange liqueur, cherries and well-controlled preserved ginger in syrup. Luscious, decadent but elegant. Honey, barley sugar, vanilla nougat, chocolate, butterscotch and sherry balanced by a touch of peat, salt and pepper. The texture is creamy, enveloping and mouth-watering. Finish: Medium. Rich malt, a little smoke and brine, and orange nectar fading into a milk chocolate aftertaste. A lovely whisky. Excellently balanced, complete and very, very satisfying. It’s a while since I tasted an old Highland Park. Silly me. So, is this as good as previous expressions of the 18 year old – that’s the obvious question. Well, yes – pretty much. I’m going from memory and my old tasting notes here, but IMHO it is very close and although the profile has changed it has not lost quality. I don’t believe there was any change of the blending recipe for this single malt when the bottle design changed, and any detectable differences are just down to batch-drift and changes in cask supply. I think it used to have a more obvious and sophisticated sherry component but that has been replaced by a succulent orange-centred fruit character which is very compelling, and I have no complaints. Tasted from a 30ml sample. Bottle ordered (it is worth the money and still one of my favourite whiskies for that desert island). “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

Nose: Maritime aromas of brine, shellfish and pebble beach lead the nose, backed by lemon zest, heather honey, apricot, grilled pineapple and a little sooty smoke. It’s a fresh, coastal nose given depth by honeyed sweet aromas and a subtle hint of oloroso sherry that contributes a balancing dry character. The nose gains depth over time but not great complexity, instead remaining fresh, crisp and coastal, but aromas of good oak cask do become obvious. Palate: Firm, sweet and gently spicy arrival centered on ginger, marmalade and dark chocolate-coated toffee. The smoke is definitely there but it is restrained at first, only building on subsequent tastes. Tropical and citrus fruit, mixed nuts, and a light hint of spice in the development. Like the nose the sherry cask contribution to the palate is very calm and controlled and the texture is delightfully creamy with good weight. Finish: Medium. Cocoa, coffee and a touch of sweet and briny smoke. A classic Highland Park nose that is reminiscent of the best aspects of the old 10 year expression but with more maturity and balance. The cask selection was very good and the oak has contributed a hidden strength of character to the profile. It is also perfect at the bottling strength of 44%. I did not add any water and I see no reason to do so. This is a very good whisky, and the best of the four Highland Park expressions I’ve tasted so far today. It starts out as a good but somewhat unassuming whisky but with time in the glass it grows in stature, and by the time the dram was finished I wished I could have poured myself another. Recommended. Tasted from a 30ml sample, bottle ordered. “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars)