Nose: Malty, heathery, and slightly smoky with some tinges of orange and honey. There is also a hint of the seashore with some light salty mineral notes floating about. Fresh, bracing and invigorating. [The dry glass is slightly sooty honey]. Palate: Heather smoke and honeyed malt arrival that develops quickly into a full-bodied cereal palate with some bitter/sour citrus notes along the edges. It's crisp and clean with some spicy ginger notes and a little crème caramel towards the finish. Charming! Finish: Medium. The honeyed cereal character drifts into a delightful sweet barley sugar aftertaste. Overall this is a very fresh, crisp and almost disarmingly honest whisky caught at the first blush of its maturity. The nose has everything that will, with more maturation, fill out into the familiar Highland Park smoky-honeypot profile, but here it is beautifully encapsulated in its vigorous, nascent form. The smoke, although subtle, is more prominent than you would expect and it works wonderfully. The palate is crisp and clean and has excellent texture - just slightly creamy and full of nutty hints. It is enticing and seductive neat, with no heat whatsoever, which is how I'd recommend taking it. Normally I add a small dash of water to my drams, but this simply doesn't need it. I shudder to think how addictive it would be at lower strength, with more sweetness released. This is delicious whisky, and a steal at the asking price. I actually prefer it's slightly brusque charm to the profile of the 12 year old, which has slipped a bit of late. In fact (and this will set the cat among the pigeons) I'll say outright that this is the best value Highland Park currently available, and that includes all the special NAS releases and the other age statements up to and including the 18 year old. The 18 has more finesse, but it's also about 3 times the price. You need to move up to the 25 year old to arrive at something that beats this hands down, but by then you're paying about 10 times the price. Seriously, if you've not tasted this pick up a bottle - it's inexpensive and very good. Try it in a horizontal tasting against some of the recent NAS expressions and prepare for a re-calibration. The official notes here by Blair Phillips are right on target and sum this up perfectly. Highly recommended. "Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)