Highland Park 18 Year

Nose: light and gentle smoke, crisp apples, honey. A splash of sea spray. Hint of cinnamon and raisin. A gentle sweetness that is not sickly or overpowering. Palate: complex and deep. Honeyed malt, crisp orchard fruit. Gentle salinity, very slight backing hint of peat smoke that balances out the fruitier elements. Dark fruit/earthy sherry influence. Getting a more prominent influence of charred oak here than I remember, similar to the note from Glenfiddich's 14y.o. Bourbon Barrel Reserve. Cinnamon spice. Incredibly smooth. Finish: lightly spicy and warming oak tannin. Hints of sea spray

If ever there was a scotch that tastes like a campfire, this is it. Smoke and spice hit first fillowed by sweet cherry, sherry, chocolate, cinnamon and ash. All sorts of subtle flavors best described as a journey of smells from a cigar room distilled into a glass of whiskey. A truely unique and delightful dram. Super smooth and complex with a dry finish. One of the very best to enjoy neat.

Nose: sweet and subtle smoke, brine, bright citrus, and a hint of vanilla Taste: starts soft and sweet like honey, opens up with a soft rumble of peat, and tumbles through the malt and finish flavors as it sits. Really opens up as you let it sit for a bit Finish: long, smoldering finish of peat and sweet honey, with pulsations of red fruit and dry acidity

Four years ago, I was just starting to explore very good whisky, whiskey and bourbon. I wrote a very short and simple review for Highland Park 18 year, declaring it one of my top 10. My recent stroll down memory lane has ignited a desire for me to revisit some of my older reviews and well... re-review them. The nose smells of deeper sweet notes surrounded by savory peat smoke. Not in any way acrid but more a savory, smoked pork shoulder type smoke. Bittersweet dark chocolate and cherry cordials set the stage for baking spices like cinnamon. The spice factor isn't sharp, it doesn't tickle the nose. And of course, the nose ends on the aforementioned peat smoke. All of the scents are mellow and meld together beautifully. The front of the taste is sweet and creamy. Buttercream, honey and dark chocolate. The peat smoke on 18 year is quite a bit more pronounced than the 12 but it isn't at all intrusive. The salty, savory smoke underlies the mid-back half of taste. Some zingy grapefruit adds a slightly citrusy twang mid taste and then baking spice pads the tongue giving just the slightest tingle. The finish is dry and spicy but very soft and approachable. Baking spices keep the tongue tingle there along with tannic oak and leather. Soft as it may be, the finish is long and coats the tongue quite well. Although this is less sweet than I remember, this is still top 10 in my memory. It really encompasses all of the flavors one might find in a top shelf single malt, softens the edges and blends them together expertly. Yeah, it is quite pricey but at least Highland Park 18 isn't allocated and rarer than unicorn blood. If you can spring the cash, it's well worth the buy.

De beaux arômes de cassonade, vieux bois poussiéreux, caramel, liqueur d'abricot, tabac, légère tourbe, minéraux. En bouche, les saveurs tourbées ressortent un peu sans être intenses, beau bois corsé mais doux au palais, quelques fruits à noyaux mûrs, tabac, chaleur d'alcool agréable. Long arrière-goût boisé, un peu brûlé. Excellent