Highland Park 12-year is one of my favorite scotches and whiskys in general for that matter. It’s very approachable, can be someone’s first intro to scotch, or to peat, because it’s a gently peated single malt. This is my first time trying the 18-year so I was very interested to see what doubling the cost and adding six years would give this scotch. Nose: rich balance of oak, fig, vanilla, peppercorn, hints of sulfur and brine Taste: sweet but not candy sweet, cream, a little bit more peat than from the nose, cherries, hints of caramel, more spice, vanilla and salt Finish: one more dash of spice, peat and salt, with a caramel flourish This is a great whisky. It definitely benefited from the additional six years in the barrel. However, on this first tasting it’s not worth double the price of the 12-year, which I guess is a good thing because I’d rather spend $60 and get the 12-year. Is it an inexpensive (comparatively) bottle to buy *if* you want a middle-aged whisky? Sure. Glenfarclas might be one of the others in the range. But in the end, the 18-year is 10-15 percent better than the Highland 12 but that doesn’t justify the cost in my opinion.