Highland Park Magnus

Sitting in my favorite Hartford Irish bar enjoying fish and chips and enjoying game two of the World Series. Peeked onto the whisky self and immediately recognized the strangely shaped black bottle. Being a big fan of the "old school" Highland Park, this was the opportunity to sample the "new school" product coming out of the Orkney Islands. The nose has the Highland Park light rubberish smoke. Working the nose, a low-tide maritime brine blends into the smoke producing a slight funky nose (funk in the George Clinton style). Give it some time and the fruit and sweet come through. Caramel apples and toffee arrive along with toasted almonds. The palate is thin and soft. A mix of sweetness and spice blend with vanilla, brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon. A touch green apples come through along a mineral quality. The finish is medium-short in length with wood, lemon citrus with a tinge of ginger. As I was tasting and thinking about this whisky, the constant thought in my mind is that this just seems like a watered down Highland Park 12. As others have mentioned, that I read, this is akin to Johnnie Walker Black. I admit I was somewhat disappointed and had higher expectations. Maybe to keep the HP followers in line with their current marketing strategy with the reduction of their age-statement whiskies, and to apease them with an affordable product, they produced Magnus since their other NAS whiskies are, in my opinion, overpriced. It's not a bad whisky. It's just lacking a boldness. I think one would be better served shelling out $10 to $15 more for HP12 (at least while it still exists). [84/100][Tasted @ Vaughans: 10/25/17]

Nice budget Highland Park!

Highland Park Magnus: Nose: smoked red vines licorice, dried fruit. Eventually fresh roasted candied nuts like the kind at a baseball game. Taste: touch of dried cherries, wood, vanilla, more wood, salt, herbal, eventually maple. reminds me a little of a rougher Talisker sometimes. A few drops of water helps smooth it out. Some smoke and peat on the finish. Less sweet than the 12 year, lets the smoke stand out a little more. I dig it, great for the price.

The amusing thing was that I went into the liquor store today just looking for something cheap for a daily dram, like a Johnnie Walker Black. Well, they actually had this new one, and I thought, "What the hell, might as well" since it was 40 bucks. Heather, with light fruit on the nose. Pineapple, caramel, slight peat and smoke. Decent, but nothing special. I wouldn't dare touch it with water at 40%. Similar palate - nice splash of sweetness, but not in a cloying manner. Toffee, smoke, and some oak notes. The strangest thing to me is that this is not at all much different than the Valkyrie, which is twice the cost. The finish is similar to the Valkyrie as well, with a short subtle coffee bean after taste. On par with the standard JW Black, and a good option for a standard if you want something cheaper.