Highland Park Valkyrie

As a follow-up to my HP Valknut review, I've got here a review of its predecessor, the Valkyrie. My experience with the Valknut was interesting. Loved it when I cracked it. Disliked it when I reviewed it initially, though I was sick. Re-reviewed and found out it was above average. Interesting. Now I've got entry #1 in what I'm calling the "Valk series." I've had a much more consistent experience with them. I have no idea how much of the bottle I've worked through thanks to the opaque black bottle, but judging by the weight I'd say I'm about midway through. Nose: Creamy custard and sherry notes like cranberry, orange, raisin, fig, date, and apricot. Caramel and vanilla, with a bit of sulfur. Some toffee and a bit of sea salt. Low on the smoke and peat, though there is a slight maritime quality. Palate: Plenty of sulfur, cranberry, apricot, and orange. Toffee, caramel, vanilla, and milk chocolate. Once again, a bit of sea salt. Background peat. HP claims this is above average ppm, and while I detect a bit, I'd have guessed the opposite. Instead I get a cross between dry red fruit, citrus fruit, and a bit of dessert sweetness. A bit of cinnamon and baking spice heat. Finish: A touch of smoke followed some dry fruit and milk chocolate. All cinnamon and pepper for the duration of a short-moderate finish. *I'm back roughly a half a year later. Toward the bottom of the bottle. The notes are similar but the length of the finish is much greater. Adds some orange, apricot, and peach notes. Moderate-to-long. Much more exaggerated notes and punch, in a good way. Overall, I'd say it's a solid NAS Scotch. Worth $80? Eh. Not really. But it's well-balanced, and plenty interesting. HP played it straight with this one unlike the risky and somewhat volatile Valknut. This one made less of an impact than the latter, but I give it points for consistency. I think the two expressions are, ultimately, equal, for very different reasons. I'll be buying the Valkfather to compare. The "Valk Series" is in no way exceptional but I do find it compelling for some reason. Not exactly a glowing review, I know. But there is a lot to like here. HP gets a lot of flack for the Viking theme and the prolific of output of subpar NAS products. This one does not fall into that category. This one was hard to review. I may have to come back to this one. Conclusion? My rating perfectly matches the Distiller user average of 3.75. Good but not great. Glad we're in agreement on this one. *Bumped up to 4 flat roughly a half a year later due to the improvement to the finish. Strong nose, dips a bit on the palate, and comes roaring back on the finish.