Four years ago, I was just starting to explore very good whisky, whiskey and bourbon. I wrote a very short and simple review for Highland Park 18 year, declaring it one of my top 10. My recent stroll down memory lane has ignited a desire for me to revisit some of my older reviews and well... re-review them. The nose smells of deeper sweet notes surrounded by savory peat smoke. Not in any way acrid but more a savory, smoked pork shoulder type smoke. Bittersweet dark chocolate and cherry cordials set the stage for baking spices like cinnamon. The spice factor isn't sharp, it doesn't tickle the nose. And of course, the nose ends on the aforementioned peat smoke. All of the scents are mellow and meld together beautifully. The front of the taste is sweet and creamy. Buttercream, honey and dark chocolate. The peat smoke on 18 year is quite a bit more pronounced than the 12 but it isn't at all intrusive. The salty, savory smoke underlies the mid-back half of taste. Some zingy grapefruit adds a slightly citrusy twang mid taste and then baking spice pads the tongue giving just the slightest tingle. The finish is dry and spicy but very soft and approachable. Baking spices keep the tongue tingle there along with tannic oak and leather. Soft as it may be, the finish is long and coats the tongue quite well. Although this is less sweet than I remember, this is still top 10 in my memory. It really encompasses all of the flavors one might find in a top shelf single malt, softens the edges and blends them together expertly. Yeah, it is quite pricey but at least Highland Park 18 isn't allocated and rarer than unicorn blood. If you can spring the cash, it's well worth the buy.