The long awaited highland park. Much has been said about this whiskey since I first came into the whiskey game last year. Hadn’t tried this but was finally able to get a bottle of it. Excited to try this dram. Nose: my initial smell gives me a lot of dried fruit smells indicative of single malts, some canned peaches, banana, browned apple, notes of honey. Taste: A lot of people say smoke, but that’s not at all what I get at all. I’m getting a lot of oak in the mids, leather, tobacco, black pepper spice on the end, the initial liquid on tongue is a short sweet honey that disappears really quickly. Mouthfeel: it’s soft, watery, sweet, and short on entry that intensifies to a spicy heat that coats the tongue. It’s like spicy Mexican candy that tastes sweet on the initial taste but quickly builds to a heat. The heat here doesn’t last long though but gives a small peppery end that makes you wonder if you drank anything in the first place. That was an interesting experience. Typically it is said if whiskey that the tongue verifies what the nose already discovered. That is not true whatsoever for this dram. The nose and palate are 2 different things. I’m not sure yet how to score it. But as of first opening. It is not my first choice. I’d rather something a little sweeter or something islay that is truly smoke. This feels unsure of what it wants to be.