Highland Park Dragon Legend

I ended up receiving a rather large pour of this from my NJ connection: @PBMichiganWolverine. I knew my friend @Generously_Paul would get a kick out of this one so I siphoned off a couple of ounces for him and proceeded to enjoy the last 4-5oz for myself. I hadn’t really searched for this one at all, so it came as a surprise when it was included in my last trade with Mr B. This is a TRE that’s a deep, rich gold that makes medium sized droplets and slow running legs in the Glencairn. It’s bottled at 43.1% and I believe it sells for less than $60 online (if you can still find it- it sold rather well). The nose was initially very sherry heavy. The peat and smoke made its way from the glass with a little coaxing after 10-15 minutes and brought some salt and pepper notes along with a decent hit of zesty oak and light citrus. Dark berries and caramel formed a bookend around the nose by showing up early and reasserting itself later on. A truly wonderful nose. The palate was predominantly smoky to me, slightly harsh and dry while allowing a bit of buttery vanilla and salt to round things out. The mouth feel was somewhat thick before turning drier than I’d prefer. The finish was short-to-medium with a nice lingering spice and warmth. Ultimately it ended up oaky and dry with wisps of smoke attaching to the tongue and roof of your mouth. It ends the way you expect an island, peaty whisky should. Overall, it makes the short list of quality NAS, TRE releases that have come out of the islands/Islay recently. There’s definitely good value for the money spent, as well. 4-4.25 stars, easily. Cheers.

So yesterday I received a 2oz sample of this newest NAS Highland Park from my good friend @LeeEvolved he himself having received a 6oz sample from our mutual friend @PBMichiganWolverine. So thanks to the both of you for the chance to try this guy out. I have many, MANY other samples to choose from at the moment, but this one caught my interest and I had to try it ASAP. Dragon Legend is made with a higher percentage of peated malt than its standard core range. Bottled at 43.1% ABV and is natural color of honey gold and is most likely chill filtered. Big juicy sherry notes jump out on the nose. Raisins, figs, sherry, maple, caramel, molasses. Slightly smoky, but not too noticeable compared to the sherry notes. Floral, heather honey, candy apples, light oak and Juicy Fruit gum. A light earthy/mineral note. The peat is here, but very much the floral Orkney peat vs the intensely earthy and vegetal peat of Islay. Plums, grilled apricots, pickled ginger, pecans and almonds. I love this style nose, big rich sherry full of flavor. This is not one of the more intense examples of this style, but it is a good one. The palate has soft but flavorful peat, lovely sherry, but not too intense on either front. Walnuts, pecans, sherried fruits - apples, plums, blackberries, strawberries, grapes. Sweet vermouth, cantaloupe, cloves, ginger. Threads of smoke weave in and out, but never dominate. A medium bodied mouthfeel that is creamy and mouth coating. A medium long finish with sherry, nuts, light peat, cloves and is dry. I really wasn’t expecting this much sherry from an expression that is hanging its hat on having higher than normal amounts of peated malt. The peat is there, and is perceptively higher than the 12 year old, but the sherry is the star here. It seems like a 65/35 blend of HP 12 and Macallan 12. Fairly complex at times but also elegant in its simplicity at other times. Master of Malt lists this at $43 and at that price this is totally worth it. 4.25. Cheers

If you don't like the taste of peat but want to show you can handle a smokey whisky, then this is the whisky for you. The sweet notes of Highland Park make this a perfectly palatable peaty dram. Personally, I'm just a sucker for an Old Norse backstory.

Salty, smokier HP with a bit of heft. It’s their 12, with a smokier background. For $50, it’s a great buy.

Great, darker colour, drinkable.