Highland Park Triskelion

One elusive Highland Park bottle has been this "Triskelion" expression, a decanter that i have seen quite a lot in auctions but i really was mever convinced to buy. The name comes from a nice experiment, three whisky makers (Gordon Motion, Max McFarlane and John Ramsay) came together to marry three different casks, of their choosing, to create this single malt. Matured in first-fill sherry seasoned Spanish oak butts, first-fill sherry seasoned American oak casks and ex-bourbon barrels and hogsheads. Bottled at 45.1%abv. On the nose, you get that classic heathery peat from this distillery. Orange peel, lime and burnt grass. On the palate, sweetness and citrus continue. Vanilla and a ghostly lemon zest. Cigarrettes. It changes from sweet to a "paper-ish", dry burnt grass profile. Aftertaste is very ashy. Cigarrettes and ashtray. New paper. Overall, this was a solid and balanced whisky, but it wasn't too exciting. It has a nice flavor profile and i can feel that they try to create something safe here. The result was a very enjoyable dram, that really won't surprise anyone too much. My score for it is 88 over 100.

Erg lekker!

Peat, a nutty aftertaste, sweet, a bit fruity with citrus, orange marmalade

I previously had bunch of different Highland Park Whiskies with obviously a lot of their themed NAS bottles since they have so many of them. I liked the regular 12y and loved the 18y but when it comes to the various NAS expressions there wasn’t a lot of stuff that I really liked, with the exception of “Twisted Tattoo” which I actually liked quite a bid. After I finished a bottle of the 18y I wanted to get my hands on one of the even “better” releases but couldn’t really decide on which one. I heard a lot of good things about “The Dark” but weren’t able to find a sample of that. But then there was the “Triskelion” that I finally found as a sample. When I first heard of it it really spiked my interest. Basically three master distillers from Highland Park (two of which are retired by now) with over 100 years of experience in the whisky business got together to create this special release. Each of them picked one extra ordinary HP cask style and then they sat down to make the perfect blend of those. The result were first fill Spanish oak sherry casks, first fill American oak sherry casks and first fill bourbon casks. It is around 200 $ but does the idea, cask types and the final result justify that price or is it yet again one of those many NAS bottles just fancier? It is swirling nicely in a Norlan glass with its 45,1% ABV in a reddish umber color. Nose: it doesn’t explode in your nose but is intriguing you with subtle but very nice aromas. First candied orange peel, nice dry spices (cumin, cinnamon), vanilla, then also a bid of molasses and chocolate and hibiscus. The longer you nose it the more smooth and creamy it becomes. A bid like like warm cocoa with a winter spice mix and orange oil. The peat is just very much in the background and not really relevant. Later in the vanilla takes the leading aroma on the nose - like fresh French madeleines with vanilla custard. Palate: The palate takes a while to develop but it becomes very nice after you let roll around your tongue for some time. Not too sweet what I like. It feels a bid young but not in a bad way. Flavors are melted chocolate, fresh lemon juice, heated spices (a bid oriental almost), cooked plums and also dried plums as well, strawberries, cloves and nice mature oak. These mixed spices though - very nice. Finish: vanilla predominantly, also lightly acidic and very nice oak flavors, apple and pumpkin seeds, a little bid of smoke. So yeah here we are. Nice whisky for sure. The ABV feels right but that 45,1% is kinda low which really makes this look like quite young whiskies they used here. The nose is great, the palate satisfying the finish interesting. The sherry influence isn’t even close to what the 18y or 16y for example deliver. Hence it is less smooth. It for sure is good stuff you are getting here but I wouldn’t and won’t buy a bottle for 200$. Hard to put a price on this one really. The idea is nice but in the end you pay for the limited amount of bottles made for this one-time special release. If they would put it in their core range (where I could definitely see it up there with the 18y) I think it should have around the same price as the 18y. That price I would be buying it for. Worth a try if you like HP but I already payed 20$ for this sample. It was worth it though but it isn’t THE Highland Park bottle I want yet.