Highland Park 2005 Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength 20 yo

 

 

 

59,7°

Distillery : Highland Park - Islands

1st Fill Sherry Butt

Independent Bottling 

By Gordon & MacPhail 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2025

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 20 ppm

 

 

 

After Pulteney, Highland Park. We’re still in the far north of the British Isles, and we’ve even left the mainland behind. Here we have a first-fill sherry butt that was left to mature for 20 years before pouring out the equivalent of 632 bottles. It was released last year to mark Gordon & MacPhail’s 130th anniversary. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It :  

Light, grainy peat and airy iodine. Pulpy yellow fruits and biscuit dough mixed with cereals. Dried apricots, heather honey, mandarin zest and a dash of vanilla. A few spices and sea spray, cinnamon, cardamom, raisins. On the palate, it’s very velvety, though just a tad drying, stiffly whipped egg whites, custard, woody and peppery notes, juicy Reine-Claude plums, almost candied. A very long, explosive finish, shortbread biscuits, a pinch of salt, a touch of minerality, a mint leaf and banana purée. Ginger. 

 

In Short, 

Here’s one that strikes a perfect balance between the subtle influence of sherry and the distillate’s strong character, all delivered with subtlety and finesse. It’s truly a little gem if you’re a fan of heather honey and juicy fruit, but the peat is there too, with chalky and iodine-like notes, lending it a more troubled, deeper character. The price is justified given its age, but a little on the expensive side considering the quality, as it’s very well made but not quite sublime. Best bought on special offer. 

Score : 89+  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                             To Be Listened While Sipping : 

                                             Dead Gowns - Hardcore or Wellness