Highland Park Valfather

Nose: more peat than the other HPs that I tasted. Aromas of sweet (stewed?) pear, some prune. Body: hay, wall but, chocolate, vanilla. Slightly burned toast. Barrel spices. Finish: smoke, pepper and dark chocolate. This whisky really opens up with a few drops of water. Highly recommended.

You know i am a man who gives high scores to whiskies. And when i read that this one, from one of my favorite distilleries won Gold on 2020's World Whiskies Awards, i prepared myself for a really nice dram, but i was totally dissapointed. Highland Park Valfather is part of what i call the "Val" series; Valkyrie, Valknut and Valfather, this last one is all about the nordic boss god, Odin. It is suppossed to be the peatiest HP and a great whisky. Lets go to the notes, then you'll have my conclusion on it. Bottled at 47%abv, burnished gold color. On the nose it is quite nice and peaty, very perfumed but nothing too special. Very grassy, hay and earthy peat notes are the first you perceive. Then a chocolate brownie aroma is revealed. Very fresh, like mint; floral, it feels "windy". Second sip gave me smokey notes and a super citric lemon. On the palate, it only has two notes, What a shame. Vanilla and Hay. That's it. Very sweet, smooth, easy drinkable, but no emotion. Very simple. Aftertaste lifts this whisky up, with puffs of smoke and pepper spice. Ginger and ashy notes are also present. Overall, this is not a memorable dram, nor a gold winner, at least not in my book. Nlthing off putting about it, and actually pretty easy to drink, but lacks emotion and complexity. My score for it is a very generous 76 over 100.

Nose – Stewed apples/pears, tea, peat smoke, heather, brininess. Palate – Oakiness, mild dark chocolate, basil, molasses, caramel, more peat smoke… Finish – Lime, ashy properties, black pepper falls short and fades quick – too short. Water – N – Comp changes - Citrus tones, bright florals, mint. P – Dulls palate – tames peat/oak but little else changes…same with F…. Peat level (12/15) (30 for Valkyrie), 35-40ppm is nice, but not the same as Islay… A bit above average, about 3.75 of 5. Feels young…$70

Beautiful. Light friendly heathery, wooden or a tad of forest smoke, vanilla and soft baked fruit, very mild coffee. Richer than HP12, round, smoke, subtle and integrated. Great! A bit short.

Baked fruit notes with burnt pie crust leads to vanilla and oak spice.

Sharp, smokey, caramel. Very good.

★★★★ On n'est pas loin du Dark Origin! Il y a maintenant des années que je n'ai pas dégusté le Dark Origin, un whisky d'exception qui ne se fait plus. Je désirais de tout mon coeur que cette dernière version de la trilogie Viking Legend vienne remplir ce canyon laissé par son petit frère. On n’est vraiment pas moins, mais il en manque un peu. Ça va dépendre du prix de vente si je cours m'en acheter une bouteille.

Great on the nose. Sweetness with pear and a touch of smoke. Definitely one of my new favourites for aroma. Taste is a bit stronger alcohol wise but with sweetness and a touch of salt and smoke. Overall a great whiskey