Highland Park Loki

Le nez est subtilement salin et tourbé, les barriques sont étonnamment délicates. Des saveurs de fleurs, d’agrumes et de gingembre mariné s’installent, mais je ne goûte pas la barrique de xérès du tout. C’est loin de la richesse de leur 18 ans par exemple. Il y a uniquement la barrique de whisky peated qui contribue à donner une petite complexité, mais qui somme toute demeure bien moins tourbée que n’importe quel Islay réellement tourbé. La finale de longueur moyenne me laisse un peu sur mon appétit aussi, ne rajoutant pas grand chose (un peu de raisins blancs séchés mais à peine). C’est bon, don’t get me wrong, mais beaucoup trop cher pour ce que c’est. J’ai l’impression que la batch présente n’est que l’ombre de ce que whisky était dans les premières années…

Oh man have i long waited to try one of this very fancy Highland Park Bottles... Loki, the Norse god or demigod of trickery, deception, shapeshifting and envy. Some even say he was the ruler of fire. The truth is that Loki's myth is one super interesting one, which i highly encourage you to read. He is the one that unleashes the "Ragnarok", by deceiving a blind god called Hod into killing The Light God Balder, Odin's brightest son, using a mistletoe. And Loki was punished for that by being tied to a rock, with a poisonous snake over his head who dripped its venom over Loki's face till he managed to scape. Then, the god of trickery will made one last deception, in order to keep Balder dead and not resurrected. But beware, this whisky might trick you into believing that you are going to spend too much on a fancy bottle that doesn't deliver its promise of been a good dram. This is not the case, since this is an amazing single malt. Bottled at 48.7abv, deep copper color. On the nose, it is so "meaty". Bacon, glazed ham; it has an exact aroma of a Filet Mignon. Argentinian Fernet liquor. Meat. After a first sip it "shapeshifted" into cocoa, chocolate and maple syrup. The palate was very good. Scorched gooseberries and grapefruits. Peppery and acid. Sherry has appeared. Coffee beans and dark chocolate. Aftertaste was just perfect. Sweet, sulphuric and salty. Also acid and earthy. Peat, sherry, salt and plain "awesomeness". Super Long finish. Ginger. Overall, the bottle, that comes in the boat called Skíðblaðnir (i dare you to pronounce that), is just marketing that makes justice to an incredible dram. I believe that this should be tasted by everyone, to show the full capability of what Highland Park can really do. A masterpiece, i loved it. It lost minimun points here and there but my final score is 96 over 100. Slàinte!

This is definitely the peatiest Highland Park out there. At the same time, it’s rich and sweet almost like an older Talisker. The peated cask also adds beautiful vanilla and caramel flavors that are balanced with dried fruit from the Sherry cask. A brilliant work of art, 97 points

Rare Scotch Flight - Brandy Library