Highland Park Spirit of the Bear

Part of a three part duty free exclusive series inspired by iconic animals in Viking culture. The marketing team have done their best to pack some stories into these TREs. Preparing for battle, Viking warriors believed they could harness the great bear’s mighty power and stamina by wrapping themselves in its skins. These fearless warriors became known as ‘berserkers’, their name derived from the old Norse words ‘ber’ – bear and ‘sekr ‘– skin. Apparently these bear skin warriors also believed whisky should be bottled by the litre. If you don’t bottle by the litre you’ll cop an axe to the skull. True facts here, nothing but. N: Light, but not necessarily delicate. I find this very immediately cereal driven, lots of honey and malt with a freshly baked pastry quality. But after 15 minutes or so in my glass this has opened up to give the HP heathery florals that I am coming to adore a little vanilla, and a touch of coastal sea air freshness. Im trying to convince myself some smoke is there, I’m not doing a good job of that. P: Soft, juicy and crisply refreshing arrival that is packed with malt, fresh orange peel and crystallised ginger. A creamy roundness is offered by a toffee note and some black pepper keeps it interesting. The smoke here I find is just a gentle whisper that threads everything together. Its light, and slightly herbal to perfumed. By the time my dram is done the whisper is a quiet conversation that I would like to continue. F: Medium. A little drying and warming with a pleasantly fading mix of honey and marmalade on white toast. Pepper is the last to leave. I don’t know how to feel about this. Many of the best things about HP are here, but they are all also a little short and lacking in depth. Then again, I would have no hesitation in pouring freely from the bottle and enjoying in good company. The litre bottling, when on offer at AUD $99 would be a steal worth stealing. Is it as good as perhaps the 10, probably not. Is it more easily enjoyed and just as good as my other recent NAS Dragon Legend and Raven; yes. Next time I travel allowances will be filled, that is for sure. [Pictured here with this drams Viking themed rock; a biotite-garnet amphibolite or as its locally known, cherry cake. This delectable looking chunk is from Akland in Southern Norway and represents metamorphic temperatures of over 500 degrees celsius and pressures concordant with depths of around 30-40 km. No bears needed] Price is for 1000 ml bottle. Distiller whisky taste #138 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: 3.5

Nose: Lightly fragrant with heather honey, citrus (grapefruit), a hint of vanilla and restrained coastal minerality being the dominant aromas. It’s a very restful and demure nose with a fresh character and it’s instantly recognisable as Highland Park. The tiniest wisp of smoke is detected but it’s barely (ha, ha) noticeable. Over time as it rests the nose develops in the glass, gaining depth and texture. Palate: Sweet, soft, mild malt arrival with citrus overtones. The development shows delicate white pepper and ginger, growing subtle smokiness and crisp acidity, but it remains gentle and highly approachable at all times. The texture is pleasant and just a little creamy. Finish: Medium. The soft, sweet palate subsides into a drier, herbal aftertaste with a little bitter orange and a pinch of salt. A delicious and eminently approachable everyday dram, this would be a very good session whisky. It shows its youth but it is not callow or under-matured in any way and the balance between distillate and cask influence is perfect. I can imagine people criticizing this for only being 40% and a NAS but those are not issues for me. It’s a friendly malt that would be appreciated by novices and enthusiasts alike and I finished my dram without even thinking to add any water. The box bears the words “smoky and bold”. No, it’s not, and I can’t imagine why they decided to label it that way. Maybe because it was a TRE release and therefore aimed at non enthusiasts? Who knows, but it gives a misleading impression. This should have been described as “light and sweetly smoky”. The smoke note does, however, grow with repeated sips. This is the first of a flight of six Highland Park whiskies that I’m tasting today. It’s been a while since I tried anything from this distillery so time to remedy that. Tasted from a 30ml sample, and I enjoyed it so much I just ordered a bottle. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Nose: vanilla, caramel, all spice Palate: caramel, vanilla, pepper Finish: pepper, dark chocolate, coffee