Highland Park Full Volume

Palate: Slight smoke, slight peat, slight spice, slight fruit... Truly a full volume

Very apricotey, so I'm not such a fan of that, but it's very complex and nicely balanced. Nose quite special, and super smooth and easy to drink, with hints of vanilla

Oh yeah. That's a bourbon barrel, all right. Yes, you're getting the usual heathered peat notes that you'll get whenever you drink any Highland Park product - only instead of being balanced out by those fruity notes that you get in some of their other offerings (12 year, for example,) you're hit by the oaky vanilla-and-spice notes that you'd expect. The effect can be surprising when you first go in for a taste - though halfway through the glass, it's no longer a "why is this a thing," and is more of a "why wasn't this a thing sooner" reaction.

Light and citrus. Very mild smoke, almost none. Salty

Whiskey extravaganza #7 This is the best Highland Park I’ve had in a while and I’m shocked by it. This is not a typical HP - it’s only matured in bourbon, it’s bottled at 47.2% instead of 43%, and it’s chill filtered but only brought down to 4 degrees Celsius so HP has only stripped away a portion of the delicious oils and esters. Should someone punch their marketing department in the bean bag for calling this “full volume” when they’ve clearly turned down it’s natural volume - yes, that is warranted. And referencing Spinal Tap on your packaging by pointing the dial to 11 when you’ve served the whiskey up at an 8 - not cool ... not cool at all. But it’s still better than most of the duds that HP has been pumping out lately. It’s packed full of rich vanilla bean, pear, and smoked caramel. It reminds me of Tomatin’s Cu Bocan line. And this is 17+ years old for $85; that is a steal by HP standards. If you see it, buy it while you can because I’m guessing it won’t be back. But burn the box - shameful HP marketing, just shameful.