So, I bought this bottle over 6 months ago with the intent of not opening it and hoping it would turn into a bit of an investment at some point. My dad visited me in late summer and after an evening of heavier than usual sipping he grabbed this bottle from the bar and tried to get me to open it. I convinced him that it would’ve been wasted in our inebriated state and returned it to the bar. Fast forward to earlier this month, I took the bottle with me when I went to visit my dad in hopes we could find a reason to get into it. He flat out declined and we went off to play a round of golf. Well, low and behold, I was able to bear witness to my 68 year-old father getting his first ever Hole In One. So, obviously, this bottle had to be opened in celebration. Congrats again, Dad! I have since poured this one four times over the last 3 weeks and I feel like I’m ready to get my thoughts down on it. So, here we go... This Highland Park 25 Year Old malt comes in at a slightly raised ABV (45.7%) and is an oily, golden yellow in the tasting glass. The legs were slow forming and thin and each spin let off a bit more of the amazing aroma. Granted, I had to let this one sit over 30 minutes to get it to open up properly. But, open up it did! This has an amazing nose on it. It starts with a big, bittersweet chocolate note. The heavy sherry influence is always present but the highlight was the toffee covered dark berries. Fresh picked raspberries and blackberries greet the well-trained and refined nose and there’s a nice hint of rich, dried tobacco. It is truly mesmerizing and the highlight of this dram. It’s an all day sniffer if there ever was one. The palate delivers heavily with sweet sherry, caramel and honey and that satisfying roasted cocoa again. The initial mouthfeel is rich. I didn’t get much of anything that resembled peated malt, but the whole sip was very warming, albeit drying at the same time. I expected the lower ABV to lead more towards an oily overall feel, but it didn’t materialize. It actually dried quite quickly. More so than I would’ve preferred. The finish is also pretty sweet, turning this whole thing into a true dessert dram. A flash of peppery oak fades into a somewhat mellow and short final blast. Those first-fill Oloroso casks do a bit of an overpowering job on the complexity here, IMO, but the chocolate and sherry do linger on until you rinse it away or go in for seconds. My overall impression is that I don’t think it beats out what I remember best about the 18 year old- and that’s disappointing considering the lofty price point here ($525). It’s still a wonderful whisky and showcases the best of Highland Park, but I really would’ve liked a layer of peat and perhaps a slightly higher ABV to really seal the deal. I believe older bottlings were above 50% and I think that would’ve really benefited this one, too. If just to offer up a bit of a punch to counter the sweetness. If the 18 is a 99/100 then this one falls a bit short at a 92-93, I think. It’s still close to a 5 star dram just because of the rarity and the pedigree, but if you’re looking for bang for your buck I think I’d stick with the 18 for now. I’m still going to be sorry when this bottle is gone, but I doubt I’d replace it or even go for the 30 year. The 18 year old at $130 is a freaking steal. Let’s hope HP doesn’t do away with that one for the foreseeable future. Cheers, my friends. PS- Thanks for sticking with this lengthy review. Give yourself a gold star if you made it here.