Dreaming-of-Islay
Highland Park 15 Year
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
June 29, 2017 (edited February 11, 2020)
If they bottled this at 46% ABV with a little more kick of flavor, this probably would be a 5-star scotch in my book. Even as it stands, I prefer this one to the 18-year (blasphemy, I know!), especially since the 18-year is often double the price of this one. The level of complexity and enticing flavors here is impressive. The nose greets you with the distinct flavors of fortified wine, but more like a port or even a moscato than a sherry (the type of cask in which it's actually aged). A few sips later, though, I get the light vanilla cream note that I also find in the 18-year expression--what I think of as settling in to the Highland Park experience. The palate is sweet and a bit tart, again with a lot of the characteristics of a fortified wine. The palate is where a little extra oomph would come in handy, as it is a little thin in texture. The finish is the strongest feature, and it's where that hint of peat comes out to play. I have a hard time believing this is as lightly peated as Distiller claims, because I definitely get a nice toasty finish of barrel char, peat, cocoa nibs, and coffee. It's a wonderful finish, particularly because it's a little unexpected. The best kind of surprise. It is a very different finish than the 18-year, less drying and with more smoke. Although it lacks a bit of the complexity of its older brother, I might prefer this one without taking price into account. And with price factored in, it's no contest--15 all the way!
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The latest trends have pushed me towards finding lesser known bottlings for older prices. Such as Glengoyne and Glencadam. Excellent 15 yr olds for ~50-70$ if you wait for Astor Wine sales!
From the distillery corporate perspective though, they'll still keeping making NAS, and then with cheaper lower quality casks, all in substitution of aged versions with higher quality. It'll sell. It's only the 1% of us on a site like this that really care one way or another. The other 99% that are deciding between beer, wine, and whisk(e)y don't care. Business-wise..makes sense. Passion and quality---well...that's different.
That seems to be the overall strategy everywhere you look. Sad, really sad. With only a few notable exceptions, I am not buying, drinking or supporting any NAS expressions. This review reminded me that I wanted to pick up a bottle of the 21-year-old HP before it's gone.
I loved the 18, haven't tried the 15. Odin was really good too, but no way I'd fork over the asking price for it. Their new strategy seems to be more high end NAS, and keeping lower end ages?
I've never been a collector of HP. The 18 is stupendous, but I haven't made to leap to purchase one yet. I love their packaging and promotion for their other expressions....but hundreds of dollars for them just doesn't jive with me.
I don't get it...this really gets me. HP is putting out a bunch of NAS expressions, and even though they're good, they're about 2x as expensive as even their 21. The likes of Odin, Freya, Ice, etc.
Yep, they are discontinuing the 15. Just checked MoM, they have and yes you can have it shipped to Sweden. Just have to pay 25% tax and import fees. Dear bank manager I need a small loan.......
they're discontinuing 15 too? I thought it was 21 only.
Great review. I grabbed a bottle as soon as I heard they were discontinuing the 15. Can't wait to try it
Wow, did not realize that! Any chance of getting it shipped from elsewhere (not sure of EU regs), like from Master of Malt? Also, for what it's worth, I'm in the US so reviewing the 43% version, I've read online that by a weird quirk, it's normally 40% elsewhere. Good luck!
Great review. I must find this. As far as I know there are only two bottles left in Sweden.