63,6°
Distillery : Highland Park - Islands
1st Fill and Refill European and American Oak Oloroso Sherry Seasoned Casks
Original Bottling
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2025
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength
Peated around 20 ppm
I was quietly waiting for Batch 6 in the Highland Park Cask Strength series, and this is what arrived instead. It’s also a limited edition, so it’s really just like Batch 6, but with a different name. It was aged exclusively in sherry casks, mostly refill casks, I’ve been told. The barley used was 100% peated, whereas normally it’s only 20%, making this a very peaty Highland Park. I’ve estimated 20 ppm, but that’s a minimum, it could be 30.
Let's Taste It :
Beautiful rooty peat, earth and heather, it’s slightly fruity and floral, liquid honey, yellow plums and brown bananas, smoked mackerel, wood charred with a blowtorch. Plenty of iodine and mineral notes, along with bamboo and dark tobacco. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, maple syrup, pecans, as well as very burnt, woody, conifers, brush, a touch of herbaceousness, pungent spices. A fierce, charred finish, soot and coffee, dark chocolate, roasted chestnuts, but also long-lasting, dry earth, nutmeg, cinnamon. Red berries, a pinch of salt.
In Short,
The difference I noticed compared to the Highland Park Cask Strength series is that this one is younger and therefore less influenced by the cask. In addition, the peat is stronger, so the fruit notes are very discreet, it’s primarily stormy, smoky, and briny. It’s a vigorous Highland Park, but also austere, dark, despite the cheerful color of the packaging. I didn’t find it particularly impressive, until the finish, which is powerful yet very long, making it a good whiskey after all. The price is quite reasonable, at that price, it’s worth giving it a try out of sheer curiosity.
Score : 89
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Austere - Just For a Moment...
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