Continuing with my Highland Park exploration we move to the newly released 15 y/o. This bottle received a fair amount of marketing from HP with the newly designed ceramic ‘bottle’ and lots of ‘visual tasting’ adverts on social media. Given how remarkable the 10 and 12 are I have very high expectations tonight as I pour a measure of this beautiful looking liquid. N: Mild and oily with a delicate presence. Soft brown sugar is up front and melts you in. As brown sugar wraps around; I find orange oil and a tiny spice note, like clove or cinnamon. Dried apricot and the most beautifully soft cushion of floral heathery smoke are wonderful. The more I let this sit and breathe, and the deeper I inhale, the more I can find a slightly figgy to raisin fruit note that is undoubtedly delivered by the sherry casking. Time in the glass intensifies everything and demands more time and attention before the first sip. P: A smoky and sooty arrival that has a mouth filling presence. Heathery and slightly briny smoke pushes all around giving way for dark (but not bitter) cocoa, dark toffee and a suggestion of vanilla, a thick dark marmalade, and candied ginger. A slightly nutty-creamy development accompanies a building smoke that reaches BBQ burnt end appeal. Sherry fruit and sweetness is present but it is not the lead singer, it’s the backing trio that just keep the harmonies ticking along. Lovely stuff. It is the smoke and chocolatey marmalade that draw me back in though. F: Medium-long. Creamy cocoa, delicate spice notes and lingering embers. This is perhaps better than my expectations and lives up to the marketing hype. The extra age over the 10 and 12 have taken the sugars and dark fruits of the sherry cask and pushed them into dark toffee and cocoa. Supporting efforts fo marmalade are wonderful and with the exemplification of the smoke on the nose through to the palate we end up with a lovely maturity and balance without being lost in complexity. I’m wondering if this might be a bit of a sweet spot for ageing Highland Park spirit. Looking back at my taste for the 25 year old I’m not thinking there is a huge improvement from this point. Very excited for the 18 now thats for sure. [Pictured here on Boxing Day with a Christmas Tree coloured 450 million year old eclogite. This rock is from the Western Gneiss Region of Norway; a viking heart(land) you might say. Representing metamorphism of oceanic crust at around 50 km depth that occurred during the Caledonian Orogeny that built mountains across Scandinavia and Scotland] Distiller whisky taste #133 HP Running ranking (mostly for my benefit): 10: 3.75 12: 4 15: 4.25 25: 4.75 Valknut: 4.25