Soba45
Highland Park 21 Year
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
June 8, 2017 (edited August 10, 2024)
Not a bad drop, mellow, mild vanilla and sherry and all similar descriptors for this sherried style of whiskey. Enjoyable dram but the only thing that blows me away is the price at $300USD+ here in NZ (or $200 in the uk). To be honest I'd pass at half the price not because it isn't good but there's better for a lot cheaper. Solid 4 I'll rate. There seems to be mixed sentiment in this one on the net between the 18 or 21 being better. Maybe personal preference or batch variation?
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@Soba45 thanks. Good to know.
@Jan-Case There are some drams I'm just not as enamoured with compared to others. Core HP and Old Pultney range are a couple of examples. Kilkerran nice but also not to sure why people rave. I'd say seek the advice or reviews of people who maybe more in alignment to your views on similar drams perhaps? Personally €210 euros I'd have to be stunning. The HP Ice I rated far ahead of this and similar price.
@Soba45 this bottle is on sale available at an online store I buy from every once in a while for 210€. I was checking out the Distiller community if that is actually worth it. Hm. Hard to decide. Any insight from today’s market point of view? Maybe you too got an idea @Jose-Massu-Espinel and @LeeEvolved since you reviewed it as well more recently.
True. If I've got a bottle I try and have a few over a couple of weeks before final judgement..often makes a difference. :-)
Samples and miniatures are an excellent way of getting known to a broad range of Single Malt. Yes, they are expensive in relation to 70 cl bottles, but in some cases you are actually glad not to finish a whole bottle... The only thing I am always paying attention to, is to try a whisky at least twice before writing a review and giving a score.
Hopefully I'll get a sample of the 25 later in the year (a bottle is well out if reach!) and have an unopened bottle of the 18 so will be interesting to see a) how they compare and b) if it's one of those whiskies that develops over time. Samples aren't always a complete reflection of the whisky I've found but they give you a good enough idea and there is no way in God's green earth I'd ever be able to afford to buy a bottle of everything I want to try!
No! Guess it's time to buy a bottle before it's too late then. However, for 25% less I could buy a Caol Ila 25yr...
I think they're discontinuing this one; will be replaced fully by 25 and 18 instead
Only the best whiskies deserve a 5-star rating, I agree. I think I have given 7 out of 70 malts such a high mark. If you rate every whisky 4-5 stars, it doesn't really help to pinpoint what's really worth to buy.
Yeah 5 for me has to be either something really special where the rating can be completely disconnected from the value proposition or something very good that's a bargain. A five is must have in my collection and this just isn't that. I can get a Glendronach 18 for a third of the price of a HP21 here and if that's a 5 I just can't give this the same score. It's just not a whiskey that I'm thinking about long after I've finished the last drop. Maybe it's just one of those whiskies you need to drink your way through a whole bottle over time to see how it develops / opens up perhaps?
Wow, only a 4-star? I found this one pretty amazing because qualitywise it is certainly better than the 18-year-old HP (47.5% ABV!). I think there are some differences in the blending of caks being used, i.e. amount of sherry influence. Compared to HP25, I'd probably prefer this 21-year-old HP, as it costs half of what you pay for the quarter century. But no doubt, it's still a rather expensive malt.