Etikettarkiv: Highland Park Cask Strength Review

Highland Park, Islands

Highland Park Cask Strength – Release No.2

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ABV: 63.9 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 2
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a big hit from the high ABV spicyness. After a few seconds it mellows out and reveals a mix of dark fruits surrounding a sweet honey and vanilla core. There are raisins and overripe plums with some dark chocolate and earthy notes within. The sweet core has some toffee coming through. There’s also a heathery floral side to it. The high ABV creates a medicinal character which gives the whole another dimension. With time the sherry cask influence increases. This is a great and powerful nose which gives the explorer nice layers to peel off one by one.

Mouth: It starts out with a very spicy ABV kick which affects all parts of the mouth. The front of the palate is now full of fresh lemon while the back part houses the dark fruits, pipe tobacco and dark chocolate. In between lies the floral notes. It is almost too powerful at first impact which makes it somewhat hard to approach even for a seasoned whisky drinker. If water is added there are mixed dried fruits and cinnamon arriving and for those who persevere it becomes very balanced between the different flavour elements.

Finish: The spicyness spreads and creates a nice warm blanket on top. It immidiately becomes darker and the focus lies on the raisins, overripe plums and the dark chocolate. The sweet side is subdued throughout the finish. After a while a very nice damp and dusty oakiness starts to emerge. It evolves into a big hazelnuts and old cellar combination which fits the flavour profile extremely well. The late finish consists of dark chocolate, tobacco and the nutty oakiness and it delivers an extremely long and rewarding finish. This is a great whisky. It’s young and rowdy, but has been given a very nice suit to grow in.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in a mix of both european and american oak ex-sherry casks and a small portion of ex-bourbon barrels for an undisclosed amount of time. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Highland Park, Islands

Highland Park Cask Strength Edition Batch 4

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ABV: 60.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
(from Batch 2. Notes will be revised)
Nose: This is sort of laid back and sweet. There is an ABV spicyness coming through but it’s not invasive. There’s honey and vanilla together with a red fruitiness but the whole thing isn’t jumping out of the glass. There’s a subjective note of how a closet full of old clothes smell. The core flavours tend to move forward over time in the glass with red berries and dark dried fruits. It opens up and improves substantially with time.

Mouth: It starts out sweet and quite ABV spicy. A lemon note flies by before the red berries and dark fruits show up. There’s liqueur-soaked cherries and raisins. There’s a dusty note and just a thin leather note. The cask influence is sort of limited and it’s not a complex dram, but flavourful nontheless.

Finish: The high ABV shoots off a peppery spicyness before the sherry influence and a honey sweetness comes through. Vanilla is residing in the background together with some raisins and there’s not much of an oakiness, just a touch in the end. It comes through together with the thin leather note. There’s no astringency and basically no bitterness. A small chalk note comes through late in the finish.

Additional information
This expression was first released in 2013 as an exclusive for the swedish market. It’s aged in european ex-sherry casks for an undisclosed amount of time.

Highland Park, Islands

Highland Park Cask Strength – Release No.1

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ABV: 63,3 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is laid back and sweet. There is an ABV spicyness coming through but it’s not invasive. There’s honey and vanilla together with a red fruitiness but the whole thing isn’t jumping out of the glass. The core flavours tend to move forward over time in the glass with red berries and dark dried fruits. It opens up and improves substantially with time. It’s young and a bit spirity, but it’s a nice nose.

Mouth: It starts out sweet and quite ABV spicy. A lemon note flies by before the red berries and dark fruits show up. There’s liqueur-soaked cherries and raisins. There’s a thin leather note and a hint of cinnamon. The cask influence is sort of sitting on top like a lid and it’s not a complex dram, but flavourful nontheless.

Finish: The high ABV shoots off a peppery spicyness before the sherry influence and a honey sweetness comes through. Vanilla is residing in the background together with some raisins and there’s not much of an oakiness, just a touch in the end. It comes through together with the thin leather note. There’s no astringency and basically no bitterness. This is a young and rowdy powerhouse in a nice suit.

Additional information
This expression is aged in sherry-seasoned american oak casks. The casks varies in age. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.