We have arrived at the end of the TRE releases, Bear, Wolf, and now Eagle. The marketing drivel here says that HP seek to celebrate the wild windswept Orkney Islands with the ‘Wings of the Eagle’ release; “Our waters are stormy, our winters are long and few trees can survive here… but that just makes for a more harmonious whisky”. N: A refreshing and summery nose that smacks of orange off the bat. Then, beyond this orange forward juiciness is shortbread biscuit (I guess thats buttery and vanilla malt) and then a pine needle/Christmas tree vibe is unexpectedly brilliant. Smoke comes through from this pine, its soft, light and very floral/herbaceous - HP doing what it does best. The longer this sits the more depth there is, a leathery richness and wood spice (allspice?) compliments the nose just nicely. P: A creamy and full body but with plenty of warming and enveloping smokiness. The smoke builds but remains just slightly floral and delicate enough to be really interesting. The smoke also carries with it just the slightest briny minerality. The rest of the palate has honey and malt, bbq charred peach, and a touch of orange vibrancy. Spices mix together and I think I find pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and maybe some ginger too. Bourbon barrel influence is present as a butterscotch-toffee. F: Long. Creamy and a little nutty (pecan?) with a leathery to (salted)-chocolate exit that vies for attention with some wood spice. Being objective, I have a clear winner for complexity, flavour profile, depth of character and all all-round show stopper from these TREs: Wings of the Eagle. Interestingly the 14 year old Wolf was a comparative disaster and the Bear was really enjoyable for a simple entry. I find this Eagle a unneccessary addition to HPs already stacked range. As far as I am concerned this comes across like a less sherried and more bourbon influenced version of the 15 year old viking heart; replace some fruity/winey sweetness with more notable toffees and leather and I think thats about the differences covered. I think I may enjoy the 15 slightly more, there we some interesting bitter marmalade and cocoa notes that make the difference. But heres the rub, the 15 is AUD $185/700ml; the Eagle, AUD $175/1000 ml. Maybe some of the extra cost of the 15 is the sherry cask and ceramic bottle? Maybe the 15 is better stock? I’m not sure, but this Eagle probably does fly somewhere between the 12 and 15 in my books. Should you use your duty free allowance to buy it; no, just pick up the 12 and a Woodford Double Oaked, you’ll be taken care of across two drams for similar cost. [Pictured here with this drams viking themed rock a 1.6 to 0.93 billion year old rhodolite-quartz-biotite schist from near Akland in southern Norway. This beautiful rock is from a 30 km wide section of very high grade metamorphic rocks that represent very high temperatures associated with a major episode of mountain building at the time]. Price is for 1000 ml bottle Distiller whisky taste #140 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 Spirit of the Bear: 3.25 Loyalty of the Wolf: 2.75 Wings of the Eagle: 4