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)