Highland Park Cask Strength Release No. 1

Dark fruits and chocolate, it doesn’t smell hot for 63.3%abv but it comes in later. Not much peat or smoke, it’s buried in the sherry. Add a bit of water and that peat comes out a bit. Doesn’t mention anything about added color or non-chill filter but whatever, it’s delicious.

Uncut - very strong nose - charcoal, sweet sherry, wisps of smoke, spicy herbal notes - heather and grass. The sherry has a citrusy, acidic funk that gives way to walnuts and raisins. I also get a little dark chocolate. The sherry is front and center on the palate- sweet, with an acidic bite. Earthy and nutty, but there is a dry almost fino like character as well. I get a little dry dark chocolate, and some smokey peat combined with coastal flavors- salt and white pepper, the smoke is dry and rolling and persists into the long finish. I get the honey and heather that I so closely associate with Highland Park, but it's not nearly as strong as the sherry flavors, which are turned up to 11 here. The sherry is creamy and there is a definite oakiness from the cask. I get chocolate and walnuts well into the finish. This is definitely Highland Park, and it works well at cask strength. It is very flavorful and robust. I'm not sure that it has quite the balance of the official distillery releases, but it does everything that I expect out of Highland Park, and it does all the things that make it one of my very favorite distilleries in the world. The intensity of the sherry is really quite enjoyable, but it somehow doesn't crowd out the more delicate flavors. The intensity of the flavors makes this a veritable storm in a glass- it tastes like an ancient wind-swept island. This is a perfect cold, windy day, drink in from of the fire kind of dram.

I had my water dropped ready when I poured this libation, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn’t need it. It’s truly mind blowing how smooth this cask strength scotch is.

wispy smoke, cracked black pepper, and sherry influence. Much more balanced and enjoyable than the normal HP 12yr. Cask strength is sippable neat, and recommended.