Highland Park 18 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, 70cl

Product Information

P: first you get acid and fruity notes, mostly on sherry and dried fruits again. Then a delicious woody taste comes out, together with a gentle smokiness and a very delicate peat. We must say that on the palate it seems to be less sweet than expected judging from the nose, even if a gentle note of honey stands out. This Higland Park tends to dry your mouth towards the finish, and all the flavours tend to exhaust, leaving room to some woodiness and peat that rarely are so harmonious and enjoyable.

The taste is warm and full - almost chewy. Creamy toffee sweet, complemented with salted peat, and notes of oak. A hint of chocolate. Fruity undertones. For such a big palate, this is a lot lighter than you would think and very drinkable. It has a little bit of everything, and all of it is good! Palate: A pleasant medium mouth feel brought the salt and pepper notes forward without out the brine. The cinnamon also re-appeared to lighten the gathering on the tongue. A clean, fresher feeling then emerged, replacing the salt and pepper with a general fruit taste.I'd heard really good things about this dram before buying, so I guess I'm ever so slightly disappointed. This is an excellent whisky, but it's not world-beatingly good (which is where I expected it to be). Don't get me wrong, I'll drink this any minute of any day (it's worth every bit of the 9 stars), but I was expecting it to give all of my out-and-out favourites a bit of a shake, and it doesn't quite reach that level. It has the perfect mix of sweet and savoury, but it's almost a bit too light for my taste. Mind you, we are in the dead of Winter here, and this might work better as a Summer dram - it is fairly light and easy to drink.

Palate: Acidic lemon on entrance, with thyme. Then vanilla coming in with some ginger heat. These are joined with smidgen of oak and ash, as the sour citrus becomes just a touch sweeter into orange. Master whisky maker for Highland Park, Gordon Motion, said that “those in our Single Cask Series are, quite simply, the most exceptional Highland Park casks available” and that the cask was chosen for its “interesting and exciting flavour profile to offer something special for [the brand’s] whisky fans”. We may sell, license, transfer, assign or in any other way dispose of the Service (including Members) to any third party without any notification to you, e.g. (but without limitation) in connection with any reorganization, restructuring, merger or sale, or other transfer of assets. As for the Single Cask Series, Motion claims the 18-year-old expression has “an outstanding character or simply a superb example of Highland Park’s uniquely complex balance of flavors.”

About Highland Park Distillery

Finish: The flavors follow thru into the long well balanced end, tightly complimenting are the malty, oaky, smokey statements. This whisky, from the most northern distillery in Scotland, is told to be a perfect example of balance and complexity, and in distillery's portfolio it should represent a synthesis between youth (12 and 15 yo) and maturity (25, 30, 40 yo). B and B-: Good and above average. The best of the mass market whiskeys fit in this category, as do the bulk of the premium brands. A B- is three stars.

First, I was torn between the aberlour 18 and the HP18. I've decided to go with HP18 because I've heard so much about this whisky being considered as one of the best whisky out there. Suppose to be very balanced. Beautiful aroma, full of roasted sweet meats, honey, saffron, peanut brittle. Very little smoke and peat, but it is there - if you are willing to wait for it.

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Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. Within a few minutes after my 1st sip last evening - I sorta noticed that odd feeling that I haven't had in years...I cannot tolerate neither wine, nor champagne due to the headaches that I tend to get from both (is it the sulfites?), and last night I sensed I would have one. I think the An Cnoc 22, which is about the same price as the HP 18, is far more for the money, and in the same basic ballpark, admittedly without the hint of peat and smoke. Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates.

This is a fantastic whisky. Of all my bottles of whisky, this is definitely my favorite. The character of this whisky is not at all one-note and it is extremely well balanced. The transformation of flavors sets this whisky apart from others. I'm on my third bottle of this stuff and I have realized that this whisky seems to peak when the bottle is 3/4 full and it stays relatively consistent from there. Upon opening a bottle, I've noted that it is a lot spicier and oaky. I will see if future bottles behave similarly. Regardless of whether the Service offers the functionality to contribute, you are solely responsible and liable for any content and information that you create, upload, post, publish, link to, duplicate, transmit, record, display or otherwise make available on the Service or to other Members, such as chat messages, text messages, videos, audio, audio recordings, music, pictures, photographs, text and any other information or materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted (“Contributions”). Try a side-by-side comparative tasting between HP12 and HP18. It's a great way to experience the differences of what a few more years can do to an already good whisky.My opportunity to sample this wonderful dram came about through a conversation with my friend who I have been chatting with about whisky for the past couple of months. I had previously introduced him to SMSW’s with a dram of Auchentoshan 12, which he found to be an eye opener, as his previous experience had been limited to blended whiskies and the basic gateway drams, which he had not been impressed by.