Highland Park 18 Year Viking Pride

Highland Park 12-year is one of my favorite scotches and whiskys in general for that matter. It’s very approachable, can be someone’s first intro to scotch, or to peat, because it’s a gently peated single malt. This is my first time trying the 18-year so I was very interested to see what doubling the cost and adding six years would give this scotch. Nose: rich balance of oak, fig, vanilla, peppercorn, hints of sulfur and brine Taste: sweet but not candy sweet, cream, a little bit more peat than from the nose, cherries, hints of caramel, more spice, vanilla and salt Finish: one more dash of spice, peat and salt, with a caramel flourish This is a great whisky. It definitely benefited from the additional six years in the barrel. However, on this first tasting it’s not worth double the price of the 12-year, which I guess is a good thing because I’d rather spend $60 and get the 12-year. Is it an inexpensive (comparatively) bottle to buy *if* you want a middle-aged whisky? Sure. Glenfarclas might be one of the others in the range. But in the end, the 18-year is 10-15 percent better than the Highland 12 but that doesn’t justify the cost in my opinion.

A somewhat complicated taste that really opens up with a (very) small ice cube. Seems to go from peaty to fruity then a little nutty and finishes with a warm lasting smoke.

Rating: X/23 I noticed that I was about to hit 800 tastings on Distiller, so I figured I deserved to get to do an easy, reasonably tasty one. So, for this occasion, I pulled down my nearly-empty bottle of Highland Park 18 that has oxidized far too much .I deeply regret not moving the juice to a smaller bottle, but here we are. This isn't representative of the actual quality of Highland Park 18, so I won't be trying to analyze it too much and I won't be assigning a rating. The flavor is much flatter than it once was, but it still has a tasty richness. I enjoy the mild layer of smoke and peat. mixed with the rich, sweet fruitiness, sea spray, and aromatic spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove, and maybe a little allspice). The minerality in here is rich and goes very well with the sea spray. The fruit has a little bit of cherry with the apricot and tangerine flavors being more dominant. It's interesting hwo this dram combines the mustiness and complexity of an old scotch with the rich tartness of one aged for a shorter duration in a hot climate. Yet the rich malt balances the whole thing out. Very impressive, particularly given how greatly the oxygen reduced the complexity. This is actually much better than I'd expected it to be given how significantly the oxidation had impacted it the last time I tasted it. It isn't the 21 I gave it previously, but It's at least a 16. If I had to rate this based on what I'm tasting right now, I think I would probably give it an 18 (or maybe a 19). That's as far as I'll go with rating it though. In terms of value for the money, this is acceptable at $120 even in its current state, though it isn't an excellent buy in its oxidized form when there are cheaper options like Amrut Fusion - or Wild Turkey Rare Breed, if you're willing to take a bourbon instead. Really, if you're getting anything out of this tasting, it should be that some bottles (e.g. Springbank, Russell's Reserve, and Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof) improve substantially with time and oxygen, whereas others (e.g. this one) get worse. It's great to let bottles that benefit oxidize for a while, but you need to know which ones those are. Don't let this one oxidize. Do drink a good dram when you have something to celebrate.

若干濃い目の琥珀色。アロマは少し塩気のある蜂蜜の甘い香り。ナッツ系、ややスパイシーな香りも。ほのかにピートも香る。とろっとした甘味とスパイシーさが程よくマッチ。

Pipe tobacco finish