Highland Park 10 Year

Nose: Malty, heathery, and slightly smoky with some tinges of orange and honey. There is also a hint of the seashore with some light salty mineral notes floating about. Fresh, bracing and invigorating. [The dry glass is slightly sooty honey]. Palate: Heather smoke and honeyed malt arrival that develops quickly into a full-bodied cereal palate with some bitter/sour citrus notes along the edges. It's crisp and clean with some spicy ginger notes and a little crème caramel towards the finish. Charming! Finish: Medium. The honeyed cereal character drifts into a delightful sweet barley sugar aftertaste. Overall this is a very fresh, crisp and almost disarmingly honest whisky caught at the first blush of its maturity. The nose has everything that will, with more maturation, fill out into the familiar Highland Park smoky-honeypot profile, but here it is beautifully encapsulated in its vigorous, nascent form. The smoke, although subtle, is more prominent than you would expect and it works wonderfully. The palate is crisp and clean and has excellent texture - just slightly creamy and full of nutty hints. It is enticing and seductive neat, with no heat whatsoever, which is how I'd recommend taking it. Normally I add a small dash of water to my drams, but this simply doesn't need it. I shudder to think how addictive it would be at lower strength, with more sweetness released. This is delicious whisky, and a steal at the asking price. I actually prefer it's slightly brusque charm to the profile of the 12 year old, which has slipped a bit of late. In fact (and this will set the cat among the pigeons) I'll say outright that this is the best value Highland Park currently available, and that includes all the special NAS releases and the other age statements up to and including the 18 year old. The 18 has more finesse, but it's also about 3 times the price. You need to move up to the 25 year old to arrive at something that beats this hands down, but by then you're paying about 10 times the price. Seriously, if you've not tasted this pick up a bottle - it's inexpensive and very good. Try it in a horizontal tasting against some of the recent NAS expressions and prepare for a re-calibration. The official notes here by Blair Phillips are right on target and sum this up perfectly. Highly recommended. "Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)

How about a wee dram? This Highland Park 10 year single malt, single cask weighs in at a near unimaginable 129 proof! This is from the single cask series and was selected for the Tampa Bay Whiskey Society. In the glass this is the palest straw color. A swirl show thick sheeting with a few, slow tears. The nose on this is particularly challenging. The alcohol gets in the way if your nose gets too close! After an appropriate rest this is wonderfully floral, with notes of honey, white bread, iodine, and more. It's both complex and subtle. First impression on the palate is sweet, and then it hits. The profile is giant! Technicolor! Everything from light peat smoke to wet wood, hard butterscotch candies, juicy fruit gum, clover, brine, and more is present. When I purchased this at Gaspar's Liquor Shoppe in Tampa I was told a drop of water is a catalyst for excellence with this pour, so I added a 1/2 teaspoon of chilled, distilled water to my glencairn. Yes! The whole of it becomes more coherent. Grassy notes, honeysuckle, shortbread, ginger, clove and more make an appearance. This is a dram that rewards patience and studied examination I'm gobsmacked by this whisky. It's awesome! Definitely not a sip for every palate, and definitely not typical of a top shelf scotch, this is more like Godzilla took over a distillery and tossed everything from the town into the pot. And it works! I rate from 1 to 5 with 5 being perfect. This isn't perfect, but it's damned good. Really, really damned good. 4.25/5

The first time I tried the HP10, I didn't love it. In hindsight, my disappointment sprang from the fact that it didn't quite seem like HP to me, lacking the dark fruit and lovely peat of the 12 and 18. Having just tried it for the second time, my opinion has changed. The HP10 is different, but very good in its own right. Yes, it's lighter and more citrus in nature, but the interplay between the smoke and the fruit is classic HP. It's also somewhat complex. Most interestingly to me, the combination of fruitiness and oak give it a note that comes straight out of Speyside. This may never be my favorite HP, but it's interesting, enjoyable, and a bargain to boot.

Uses mostly Spanish oak. Using 2 cask types - American and Spanish. Made exclusively for canada initially. A high concentration is 15years and above. Pale gold in colour. Nose: vanilla, beads showing good viscosity. Citrus notes - some of the smokies highland park - older it gets the less smoke/peat. Peat is mixed with heather which gives honey sweetness. Trademark of highland park. Palate: Finish: sweet, honey - dark chocolate. Woody. Side of toubge is spicy like ginger. Tip of tongue brings sweetness. Body 2/4 - light

Being attracted by great ratings of HP 12 and 18 I decided to start from the least mature malt of the renowned distillery. And to be honest - I got slightly disappointed. It is a decent whisky, with a very interesting aroma, but taste is very mediocre with nothing to discover there. I will try HP 12 this week and I really hope it will do better (85PLN, 0,35l).

Nez: légère tourbe, fruits du verger, sensation de cacao, chêne à peine noirci, miel frais. Bouche : poire au miel, légère tourbe, alcool qui se cherche, poussière, pelures d'amandes, un peu d'orange séchée. Texture un peu légère sans être aqueuse, l'alcool rend le tout un peu rapeux à mi-gorgée mais les saveurs énoncées au début le masquent bien.