Review: Highland Park 12 years Single Malt Scotch

25 yrs ago I had a conversation with my mentor in this building.

"Rex, do you have a moment?"

"Sure."  He pushed himself away from his expansive desk, and leaned back in his chair, a battered, cracked brown leather number that had seen better days.  Being vice-president, he could afford better, but his personal sense of frugality blinded him to such unimportant matters of aesthetics.  

"Take a look at this."  I handed him a typed letter.  He scanned it and looked up with a quizzical expression.

"See here."  I pointed out a spelling error.  "And here, and that one too.  I must bounce back a couple letters a day to Joan."  

Joan was a 60ish secretary, with alarmingly unnatural blonde, Marilyn Monroe hair, who transcribed my dictation at a breezy 20 words per minute.  She was forgetful at times, failing to photocopy correspondence too.

"Jason, I hear ya."  He scratched his balding head and searched for the right words, and then added "but, . . . everyone needs a job."  

. . . 

Do you climb the corporate ladder with integrity?

25 years ago, those words went straight over my head.  I was fixated on the fact that I had a dud of a secretary.  Me, an eager-beaver, know-it-all, newly minted university graduate. What did I know?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

Over the years, I have dealt with people who take liberties with the truth, twist facts and situations to their own advantage, and generally just plain lie.  Sadly, sometimes they have been coworkers, bosses and senior management.  Today, at 46 years of age, I can finally look a man in the eye and tell if he has good character.  Unfortunately, the last time I encountered moral courage to do the right thing in the workplace was a quarter of a century ago. And this thought brings to mind Highland Park 12 years.

Highland Park 12 years Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Unlike men, whisky cannot lie.  If it is thin, weak, unreliable, you will know from the first sip.  Cheap, dishonestly young malt and grain whiskies cannot hide their shortcomings behind slick packaging, much like corporate weasels and c-suite yes-men using opaque jargon and jingoism to obfuscate the truth.  The listener knows the truth behind words like downsizing, streamlining, change management, finding efficiencies and other corporate Orwellian gobbledygook that always means the same thing: loss of jobs that impacts not just the person in the position, but his/her family.  Strangely the suit delivering the message always finds these "efficiencies" in the lower strata of the organization, not at his or higher levels of management.  

Nose (undiluted)

Fine sherry, Florida oranges, majestic Orcadian peat, subtle wood smoke, and a handful of stones.

Palate (undiluted)

The finest Oloroso sherry, orange rind, raspberries, wild honey, and a thin layer of pomegranate. Underneath all that is heather and subtle Montecristo smoke.  Great and a very unique floral complexity for a 12 year old single malt.

Finish (undiluted)

Dry, tingling pomegranate, Australian red licorice and the distinctive heather of this distillery that cannot be replicated by any other distillery.

General Impressions
Highland Park 12 years is a solid drink.  A single malt whisky that cannot be ignored.  It exemplifies all that great malts aspire to be.  For example, a lot of single malts trumpet that they age in Oloroso sherry casks.  If there was ever a word consistently over-used in Scotch whisky marketing, it is "Oloroso."    Oloroso sherry is a dry sherry.  Tends to be very dry and you taste that arid quality on the mid-palate to finish of Highland Park 12.

The Oloroso sherry casks used by Highland Park are exceptional to my mind.  They deliver a fantastic sherried Scotch whisky experience that other distilleries can only dream about.

Scottish Heather (Calluna vulgaris) 

The other feature of Highland Park 12 that I take note of is 'heather.'  What is heather?

It is a low lying shrub that grows all over Scotland and typically is mauve, lavender and purple in color.  Orkney Islands where the Highland Park Distillery is located has plenty of heather too.

I seriously believe that heather of Orkney does impart unique and rare floral notes that make Highland Park 12 special. The mechanics of exactly how this shrub influences flavor, I will admit is sketchy at best.

". . . water flowing over heather moors picks up floral characteristics along its way to the distillery, and exerts an influence during the steeping or mashing.  However, using peat that includes  heather, certain types of yeast, a particular distillation method, and oak aging may all impart heather characteristics to whisky."

Those are the words of Ian Wisniewski, a whisky writer, whose above comments appeared on page 32 of Whiskey by Michael Jackson, 2005 edition, published by Dorling Kindersley Limited.

I subscribe to Mr. Wisniewski's explanation.  There is a fascinating floral experience going on in Highland Park 12 that I attribute to heather.

Fair Price
At one time Highland Park 12 was cheap.  It didn't have the cachet of say Macallan 12 and others.  So, the price was actually very good.

Times have changed.  HP 12 is now recognized as a great single malt and so I have noticed prices creeping up.  I have been told that the higher prices reflect increased demand in India and China.  In addition, I think it has become a trendy brand in North America.  It is the name dropped most by people who know little about Scotch whisky but want to appear otherwise.  In any case, the price for HP 12 is still more than fair, in spite of recent increases.

Conclusion
Back in 2009, I wrote an enthusiastic and maybe a bit over-the-top review of this single malt (click here).  I still agree with it.  HP 12 has great character!  The question is: do you and I?

Cheers!


Jason Debly
© Jason Debly, 2009-2013. All rights reserved except for one photograph.  The photograph of the bottle of Highland Park 12 with tumbler was taken by a member on Flickr Gary White who holds all world copyright.  The photo is used in this blog with his permission.  No reproduction permitted without Mr. White's express written permission.  All other photos taken by yours truly.

Review: Highland Park 15 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Lately, I have been encountering a number of disappointing blended and single malt scotches.  The suspects:  Glenkinchie 12, Auchentoshan 12, Dewar's 12 and Whyte & Mackay.  In addition to being disappointing, they were a waste of money.  I gave away most of the bottles to friends who aren't that picky about what they drink.  I guess that's one of the hazards of operating a whisky blog.  You can waste good money on poor whisky or scotch.  With this review, I needed a scotch that would remind me of the romance between drinker and scotch that can take place when great spirits are involved.  So, I picked up a bottle of Highland Park 15 years.  I am familiar with Highland Park 12 and 18 years and was confident that the 15 would be a delight also.  I had tried it at a scotch tasting that featured a range of Highland Park bottlings.

Nose (undiluted)
Vanilla, rich peat, slight heather, sherry, lawn grass clippings, damp leaves. The aromas convey a clear message: A rich, luxuriant treat awaits!

Palate (undiluted)
Starts sweet. I can taste the sherry flavors imparted as a result of the time this spirit spent in sherry casks. It must have been good sherry in those casks because I do not taste the spoiled sherry flavors that I encounter in cheap blends like Whyte & Mackay or Dewar’s 12 years. This is choice/top shelf single malt scotch.

Besides the sherry, I am detecting spiced honey that would make Winnie the Pooh swoon with delight. Velvety smooth, yet with texture and an aromatic flavor profile that goes on and on and on like the Energizer Bunny. There is also a citrus component to the flavor profile that appears on the finish. Mid-palate is very aromatic.

Finish (undiluted)
Some fresh navel oranges and smoked salmon dry on the palate. Ohh! This is good! These smokey flavors last a long time, like an echo at the Grand Canyon.

Add Water?
Yes, please do!  A teaspoon to 1 and a half ounces will cause the scotch to become more sweet, marzipan and baklava like in terms of flavor.  I prefer this single malt with a little water.  Tasted neat there is a little hint of alcohol that disappears with water.

General Impressions

I asked Gerry Tosh of Highland Park Distillery for basic information on the 15.  Here is the email exchange:

From: Jason Debly
Email: jasondebly@gmail.com
Country: Canada (Eastern)
Comment: I operate a scotch whisky review blog
(http://jason-scotchreviews.blogspot.com/) and I intend to conduct a review of Highland Park 15 year old. Accordingly, I am seeking any information with respect to aging, distillation details and images concerning this bottling. Please note, I am not seeking a sample, as I conduct an independent review of various whiskies that I profile. If you have any information that you could provide, I may use some of it in my review. Certainly, if this is not a request that you wish to entertain, please disregard this email and do not trouble yourself to respond.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.


Sincerely,




Jason Debly

. . .

Here’s the response I received from Highland Park:

Always happy to help a whisky lover.
All you need to know is this.
Youngest whisky is 15 years old
30% of the casks used are first fill sherry cask
70% of the casks used are refill sherry casks
The big flavour difference is that we are using predominantly using
American oak sherry casks in the 15 where the 12,18 we are mainly using
Spanish oak.

Hope this helps.


G


Gerry Tosh
Head of Brand Education
Highland Park single malt scotch whisky
West Kinfauns Perth Scotland PH2 7XZ
Tel: +44 (0)1738 493611
Fax: +44 (0)1738 493838
Email: gtosh@edrington.co.uk
<>
Web: www.highlandpark.co.uk
. . .

So, first fill sherry casks obviously impart a stronger taste of sherry on the spirit in the casks than say a refill cask. Mr. Tosh also attributes the difference in taste from the 12 and 18 yrs bottlings to the different wood used. American oak!  Here's a link to his video tasting of the 15.

On the web, I have read that the Highland Park 12 and 18 yrs are aged in 90% ex-sherry casks and the remaining 10% in ex-bourbon casks. The Highland Park 15yrs is supposedly aged 50/50 in ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks.  Judging from Mr. Tosh's email the use of ex-bourbon casks would be inaccurate.  So, in order to clarify this point I posed that question to Mr. Tosh.  Here is his prompt reply:

No worries about the extra question.

Highland park use NO bourbon barrels at all, we only use sherry casks.
We use American oak sherry casks to give it the citrus flavour we are looking for.


Regards


Gerry

Well, just goes to show that you cannot believe everything you read on the web!

In any event, the bottom line is that the 15 year old is less sherried than the 12 and 18 year old editions of this great distillery. And guess what? I like it! For my taste preference, I find the 12 and 18 a little more sherried than I would like. The 15 is more balanced and the vanilla flavor is a delight. It should be noted that most critics would disagree with my opinion. In fact, I think most scotch drinkers prefer the 12 and 18 to the 15.

Value for Money?
I think so. Some may disagree. This is by no means cheap in terms of price. For me, I have no problem paying a steep price if I am getting good quality. I believe that the price is commensurate with the high quality single malt scotch whisky I will taste.

One Problem

I have encountered one ‘problem’ with this single malt scotch. It is incredibly drinkable, so easy to sip that the bottle is disappearing too fast! We all have our crosses to bear, and so I will just steel myself in regards to overcoming this seemingly insurmountable problem!

Bottom Line
Highland Park 15 years is a high quality single malt.  The price is high but reasonable in light of the quality.  This scotch would make an excellent gift for the serious scotch fan.
Cheers!


Jason Debly

Photo credits:  Close up of Highland Park Label by Let Ideas Compete;
Photo of Highland Park Distillery entrance by J_
Copyright © Jason Debly, 2009-2012. All rights reserved.

Highland Park 18 yr old - Single Malt Scotch Review

I like whiskies of all kinds. Scotch, Canadian and American. I like bourbon too. But, of all the whiskies I have tried, Highland Park 18 year old is my all-time favorite. It presents a truly special whisky drinking experience that is best appreciated by someone who has spent plenty of time drinking other whiskies before happening upon this one.

The distillery producing this very fine spirit has been doing so for more than 200 hundred years in Orkney, Scotland. I will not recount the history of the distillery here. Go to the Highland Park website for a full history. After all, the purpose of my review is to describe what this whisky tastes like. So, lets move to the task at hand.

Suggested Serving
This is a fine whisky that should not have ice added to it. Ice will dilute the flavours and the complexity. If you drink all your scotch with ice, then limit the quantity to one or two cubes at the very most. You will still enjoy the complexity of flavors but will naturally be experienced a somewhat watered down version. Mind you, some people need the ice to ease any burn the whisky presents when swallowing. If you are a serious scotch drinker, serve this to yourself with a drop or two of distilled water in order to open up the flavours and scents.

Nose
An awe inspiring bouquet of peat, smoke, and flowers. You can take several sniffs and keep wondering what wonderful dram awaits your palate.

Palate
Rich, luxurious honey/toffee flavors interwoven with nuts, spicy cinnamon, pretzel salt and the perfect hint of peat fill the palate. A chewy dram drying towards the finish. No sharp edges here. No bite, bitterness or burn here. Peat is present but not overwhelming or dominating. It compliments the flavor profile only.

Finish
A big, rounded finish of lingering smoke, spices verging on peppercorns you would associate with a flavored rib eye steak, and more toffee. This lingers for a long time in the mouth long after the dram has been swallowed.

Final Impressions
You know that you are in the presence of greatness when drinking this very fine single malt scotch. It has won countless awards as the best scotch of this year or that. Now, you understand why. Share this with your best friend, your father, your mentor, during a fireside chat about what life means. Not to be served during happy hour or for the Super Bowl.

This is not cheap to purchase. You are looking at paying around $80 a bottle (750ml). But, remember that you are buying a very high end single malt scotch. In that realm, $80 is actually not that expensive. For example The Macallan 18 year old single malt scotch is substantially more and simply not as good. Johnnie Walker Blue (a premium blend) is nearly double in price, but again not as good. Glenfiddich 18yr old single malt is more in price and not better. So, you get the picture. This would be a wonderful gift to the man or woman who loves single malt scotch. If they have never had it before, it will be a treat that they will forever after be grateful. If they have had it before, they will recognize the time and thought you put into choosing this gift for them. Do not buy this for the casual hard liquor consumer. They will not appreciate it.

There is nothing negative to report about this single malt scotch. I would however caution readers that this is 43% alcohol and so drinking this should not be followed by any driving. One can get quickly intoxicated without the intention. It happened to me one night. I kept taking sips and before I knew it, I was certifiably smashed.

Cheers!

© Jason Debly, 2009-2010. All rights reserved.