Slainte-Mhath
Highland Park Dark Origins
Single Malt — Orkney, Scotland
Reviewed
August 30, 2017 (edited December 16, 2019)
Fancy bottle, marketing-driven NAS presentation and a hefty price tag: why on earth would I review Highland Park Dark Origins? Because it's surprisingly good! Heavy sherry aroma with spices, baked apple and distant peat smoke greets the nose. I get raisins, dates, polished wood and, oddly enough, menthol cigarettes. The taste is sweet, then astringent, before the sweetness returns with walnuts, black tea and well-measured sherry cask influence. After a savory and mildly peaty finish, I must confess I am almost sad that this whisky has been discontinued.
RATING: 3.9/5.0 stars ≙ 86 pts → FIRST-CLASS [-]
65.0
EUR
per
Bottle
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That's a very valid point, Richard. It doesn't give you the exact age of the malt, but it says something about the caliber of these first-fill sherry casks.
Nice info but that doesnt imply it's anywhere near 18. They could just need to put the casks aside for another 10 years.
I ran out and bought a bottle of the 15 when it was discontinued. Think I'll have to do the same with this one. I'll get to open it some day down the road after all the other bottles I have been collecting get opened...it's hard work being a whisky snob
Nice tidbit about the casks being redirected/allocated to making the 18! Now I am more willing to try this expression.
Additional comment on the age of this NAS expression: although there is undoubtedly young whisky involved, I was told by Martin Markvardsen, HP brand ambassador, that the main reason to discontinue 'Dark Origins' is their need to use these first-fill sherry casks for their 18-year-old flagship. With that being said, there must be a good portion of 'older' casks in this malt.