Seems that HP marketing struggled with finding more viking labels and what not, so they went with a raven and packed in as much back story about magical omens and Odins eyes as possible. None of which appears to have any bearing on the liquid other than perhaps a tenuous link to travel on the open seas and an initially travel retail exclusive release. Not sure what to expect going into this, but I am worried about the TRE and NAS bottling… N: Feels a little young and abrasive at first with a plastic-acetone prominent profile that over time turns slightly medicinal and earthy. I would not pick this as a Highland Park at all. There is perhaps a deftest touch of peat but its minor. A dark cherry is about all I take away here as a discrete note. P: OK. Now we are opening up. An oily to creamy fullness delivers a quick one-two punch combo of sherry influence and peat-smoke. Dark cherry again, stewed plum, and mocha and a little backing of leatheriness are accompanied by a soft and balanced herbal peat smoke. There is no earthiness here that the nose suggested and medicinal peat notes are absent, instead the smoke leans towards a beach bonfire. And, when I’m lucky I can dig up some preserved lemon. Much, much more interesting than the nose suggests F: Medium-long. Drying smoke and cherry with a little toffee-cream softness. Is there a little heathery-herbal touch here. The nose is the let down here, it offered me next to nothing. The palate though, and finish both offer a clear insight into the sherry casks in use at HP. Off the back of last nights Dragon Legend, which was supposed to be the balancing act of sherry and smoke, the Raven has defeated the dragon. The dragon wins on the nose, but the overall dram is slightly better executed by the Raven. Not at all bad, but still second last in my current HP exploration. [Pictured here with this drams Viking themed rock a highly evolved igneous rock containing almost exclusively elongate green aegerine and white albite. This chunk of viking homeland is from Sulitjelma, Nordhordland; Norway. Given the use of ravens by viking longboats to identify the presence of nearby land this rock was fitting. Aegerine is a mineral which gets its name from Aegir, the Scandinavian god of the sea] Distiller whisky taste #137 HP Running ranking (mostly for my benefit): 10: 3.75 12: 4 15: 4.25 18: 4.75 25: 4.75 Valknut: 4.25 Valkyrie: 4.25 Dragon Legend: 3.25 Voyage of the Raven: 3.5