Highland Park 15 Year Viking Heart

44%, chill filtered and natural colour. Nose: light peat, heather, butter scotch, crème burlee and pineapple. Palate: vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon and the famous HP honey heather peat. Finish: medium short with a hint of lemon zest, spices and mellow smoke. This Highland Park isn’t your typical HP, it’s lighter and less Christmas cake. It’s sweet with medium body and much more of a vanilla sponge type of HP. This is a good whisky, but it isn’t a great one. Like a self sabotaging star athlete Highland Park likes to hold itself back. The bottle of Cask Strength, batch 4 that I have next to this is a much better whisky at less cost. Speaking of price, this 15 year old is slightly more then double the cost of the 12 year old Highland Park, which I think offers much more in terms of value then this one. While I think this bottle is good, I don’t think the “juice is worth the squeeze” in this one due to how expensive it is.

A rich, malty and spicy nose. Right off I get the peat, but not in an overpowering way, just present and pleasant. I then detect sweet grass, baking spices, vanilla sponge cake, toasted birch wood, a bit of toffee, and a touch of orange marmalade. Sweet and spicy on the palate as well, but not too hot. Up front there’s plenty of malty sweetness, reminiscent of golden syrup, followed by a mid palate of pepper, allspice, and cinnamon stick. Then the fruit and peat notes blossom with sour oranges, a little lemon, a suggestion of pineapple, and a clean grassy peat. The body is nice and full, not heavy but coating. The legs are thin though and go quite quickly, followed by retreating sheets that eventually leave a hefty dew in the glass. Soft and medium in length, with notes of rich sherry kissed oak, subtle vanilla, and a wisp of smoke over a base of honey, the finish is nice and cozy. Well balanced and thoroughly enjoyable, this “Viking Heart” has certainly won mine. Nose: 10 Taste: 9 Body: 8 Finnish: 10