Highland Park Mjølner

Nose: (neat) Beautiful oak - supple, voluptuous and intense. Toasted muesli bar, dark fruits, blood orange peel, cinnamon, oloroso sherry and a bat-squeak of peat that doesn’t quite get to the front of the stage. Nose: (watered) It becomes more rounded and subdued with water and a little time, but don’t add too much as you can easily overdo it (surprisingly). Longer term it develops menthol and peppermint notes over a floor of herbal honey. Palate: (neat) Sweet for a moment then it blasts with a peppery hit that is spiced with green peppers and gherkins. Dried figs and dates in the development, with maraschino cherries and just a drop of mezcal (!). Bitter coffee, bitter chocolate, sulphurous treacle. The texture is greasy but the spice is so intense it overtakes the texture. Leather, dry sherry and a solid foundation of smoke. Palate: (watered) A whole new ball game. Soft, sweet and supple but balanced by the forceful oak and spices that are now properly integrated. Honey is more prominent, or at least not obscured, and the whisky is joiking instead of yelling. The smoke is clearer now and more fragrant, and the mixed fruit more composed. The texture is rich, creamier and much more rounded – without a doubt this whisky benefits from water. Finish: Medium. Oaky, spicy, sour and a touch bitter (old walnuts). Oak and spice in the aftertaste with just a hint of honey. With water the finish is more gradual, mild and elegant. I took the advice of @DrRHCMadden (who generously provided this tasting sample) and let the dram sit for a while, nosing it cautiously all the while. About 20 minutes in, and with frequent rolling in the glass, it seemed to change and lose its initial rambunctiousness. It’s about this point where I started taking notes. After a taste, which was frankly too prickly for my liking, I added a half teaspoon of water and let it sit for another 20 minutes. This is when it started to blossom. IMHO this should have been released at 46%, not 56.5%. Some cask strength whiskies carry the abv easily and you hardly notice it but then there are those like this one that hit like … well, like a hammer 😄 It’s all down to the force of the European casks in the maturation (the oak is strong with this one, padawan). It’s borderline too intense for enjoyment initially, and to be honest I hated it at first, but time and a dash of water improve it out of sight, and by the time I was finishing the dram I wished I had more. Neat I’d only rate this about 3.5, but with water it is a no-brainer 4-star whisky … maybe even 4.25 .. but I would not pay the asking price for a bottle. Add just a few bucks and you can get the 18 year old which is hands-down better. Tasted from a 30 ml sample. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars [when watered])

Woah, this is Highland Park #15 for me, with twelve of those coming in the last 13 days. One heck of a ride. But now, hot off the tail of the indomitable “The Dark” we have this Australian exclusive bottling to explore. For this release HP teamed up with the owners of a viking themed Australian restaurant called Mjølner. There are two venues one in Sydney and one in Melbourne. Back in 2109 I visited the Sydney venue. An incredible place, entering down a stair case thats essentially a candle wax wall with flames flickering all around you enter into a bar with a wall of whisky, linen tunic and corset clad staff, heavy wooden tables and benches, axes, shields… and on the bar, a giant hammer. A custom made hammer that is infact a very heavy whisky decanter. The venue is very high end, very well done, and the meat dominant venue is exquisitely presented and tastes great. So an exclusive whisky will need to deliver the goods. I have to add, instead of set cutlery I had a corseted woman with the most incredible braided hair stand next to me and drop out a leather roll embedded with knives. I was then asked to choose one for eating. Outstanding. Seriously, if ever you get the chance - go! Anyway, HP and the owners of the restaurant ’The Speakeasy Group’ teamed up to release an exclusive bottling predominantly for serving at the venues but also for limited release to the Australian market. The result a 14 year old whisky matured in first-fill Sherry seasoned European oak casks, first-fill Sherry seasoned American oak casks and refill casks, bottled at cask strength of 56.6% ABV and limited to just 1,731 bottles. The Mjølner bottling is allegedly the standard HP mix of 20% HP floor-malted and lightly peated barley and 80% unpeated commercially malted mainland barley. N: I cannot recommend letting this sit in the glass enough. There is an early alcohol presence that needs to dissipate. Raisins, figs, brown butter and barley, honey, and orange peel blend together into a big smack of spicy minced pie. There is leatheriness and woody-oaky notes that add richness and indulgence. The peat smoke though, thats what I am here for. The smoke is only barely floral staying more towards a woody-herbal smoke with perhaps an element of struck match (sulphur). I think this is definitely complex, but perhaps just a little unrestrained and aggressive. P: Medium to full bodied with a growing presence. Oily to creamy texture with definite high proof presence, but not on the side of harsh. Leather is my first definite note that gives way to a dark side of classic sherry cask flavours of stewed red fruits and dried fruits. Creamy dark chocolate and fudge with bitter espresso that opens up into what I can only describe as rum and raisin ice-cream. There is at times a light sulphurous note, which normally I don’t care for, but here it kind of fits so I don’t mind it. This is a challenging palate and even challenging to draw sips out over my palate enough to keep the high proof under control. This is big, like a viking raiders axe to the chest, it does not hold back. The peat smoke seems to keep out of the palate, interesting. F: Medium. Toasty wood, mixed baking spices, a daub of honey and some lightly herbal (sage, thyme?) smoke as a distant memory. Subsequent sips finish with some pear or apple and a slightly drying woody-nuttiness. A good dollop of water tames and levels out the nose and now there is a muted white toast, less prominent smoke has just become a rounded floral delight and the sherry cask influence has brightened slightly. I think I prefer the more rustic nose. Water takes the palate to a thinner but brighter place with an ashy bonfire smoke becoming the main player with much more leafy green herb presence. I’m a little taken back by the transformation. Right. There is a lot to unpack here. This lives up whole heartedly to the essence and thematic presence of the Mjølner restaurant, authentic, unapologetic and rustic with smack loads of character. But, definitely not for everyone. I had read some pretty damning comments over the raw spirit presence of this liquid, yes, it is alcohol forward on the nose and builds a little on the palate. But, time in the glass dissipates that, and I actually think it kind of needs that aggression in some ways, it grabs hold of you and shakes you without being overly harsh. It works, I think. This is definitely not a dram to pour for a newbie and it is going to take me much more than tonights pour to understand this absolute monster, but I’m excited to dive deeper into it. There are new things here that I can recollect as lesser notes in the other 14 HPs I’ve now tried and they come together to make something that is surely HPs darkest and most formidable bottling. The herbal notes, the richness of the sherry casking and the variable nature of the smoke are not perfect but they just keep giving. This is probably the first time I have felt that the HP viking theme really works, and its the only time I think HP haven’t leant into the marketing; they should take notes here. Also this old style bottle is beautiful; kudos. I’m glad I saved this to last, this is the most interesting, challenging, and fun HP in my list. My overall best goes to The Dark, and most highly recommended is the 18. For the budget conscious or every day drinker its a hard choice between the 10 and 12. Hands down worst and a real black mark for HP is the scat of the wolf. If you’ve read this far, and gotten through all my HP tastings, thanks for reading and I hope you have either enjoyed or will enjoy a HP soon! [No ‘on the rocks’ picture this review. Instead the pop up Mjølner viking long boat that holds your bill when you visit the restaurants; a little bit of nostalgia to end this Highland Park journey.] ⁣ Distiller whisky taste #143 HP Running ranking (mostly for my benefit): 10: 3.75 12: 4 15: 4.25 18: 4.75 25: 4.75 Valknut: 4.25 Valkyrie: 4.25 Dragon Legend: 3.25 Voyage of the Raven: 3.5 Spirit of the Bear: 3.25 Loyalty of the Wolf: 2.75 Wings of the Eagle: 4 The Light: 4.25 The Dark: 5 Mjolner: 4.5

Super complex opening. Finishes with a touch of spice and smoke. Rounds out well with a few drops of water.