PBMichiganWolverine
Highland Park Fire Edition
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
February 19, 2017 (edited March 5, 2021)
I bought a 2oz drink of this last night during our dinner out. Quite honestly, I was surprised to see the big red triangle of a bottle sitting here stateside. Didn't realize it made its way over the Atlantic already. I paid $20 for a 2 oz. Aroma is smoky floral...like embers burning in a field of lavender. It's that peat-port combo I've recently grown to like. Taste first hits you with cinnamon and light floral, with a kick of red berries. Finish is looooong and hot with more cinnamon. Overall...it's really good, but $300/bottle good? Not so sure on that. I'm glad I bought a drink for $20, not sure I'd be shelling out $300 for it, especially when there are others far better and more reasonable. Unless if you're a HUGE fan of HP that you simply must get your hands on every release, I'd pass this up and buy another peat-port combo that's just as good and for a fraction of the price. This is a case where you're paying for a premium for the backstory and marketing.
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@Telex good to hear from you...always brings a smile when I hear from the old gang.
Found this for 250 recently (surprised) and the Ice for 300... Just had to pick them up as a completist since I really enjoyed Lee's pours. Sent him a text to check in on how he was doing today.... I might be a sucker, but I love and adore Highland Park, minus the insane marketing :D
I really liked Freya for that HP contrast. I normally associate HP for a strong island smoke and brine, but Freya was floral and complex. At $70 /pour, not sure my wife would've allowed me. Would've been twice the price of our meal!!
Wow, Freya ranks second out of that list. That's good news. I'm going to find that rare bottle of Thor, even if it ruins me financially. That was an excellent price for the Fire sample, btw, as my local high end whisky bar would surely charge over $70 for a pour if it was available here in Virginia.
Yeah, I expected much more I guess, considering it was HP, the peat-port combo, and the price tag. It's not like it was a disappointment, but it was at the level I hoped it would be. And it was a fresh bottle...the guy opened it right there, I was the first one that ordered from it. In terms of the HPs I've had--I'd rank Odin at the top, then Freya, 18, this one, and then 12
I bought a bottle a few months ago just because I had to complete the set. I was happy because I got a "good deal" online for $279. Reading your review is likely to lead me to put the Fire & Ice away and hope for some collector a decade from now just has to have them. Great review, as usual. Cheers.