Highland Park 15 Year Viking Heart

Continuing with my Highland Park exploration we move to the newly released 15 y/o. This bottle received a fair amount of marketing from HP with the newly designed ceramic ‘bottle’ and lots of ‘visual tasting’ adverts on social media. Given how remarkable the 10 and 12 are I have very high expectations tonight as I pour a measure of this beautiful looking liquid. N: Mild and oily with a delicate presence. Soft brown sugar is up front and melts you in. As brown sugar wraps around; I find orange oil and a tiny spice note, like clove or cinnamon. Dried apricot and the most beautifully soft cushion of floral heathery smoke are wonderful. The more I let this sit and breathe, and the deeper I inhale, the more I can find a slightly figgy to raisin fruit note that is undoubtedly delivered by the sherry casking. Time in the glass intensifies everything and demands more time and attention before the first sip. P: A smoky and sooty arrival that has a mouth filling presence. Heathery and slightly briny smoke pushes all around giving way for dark (but not bitter) cocoa, dark toffee and a suggestion of vanilla, a thick dark marmalade, and candied ginger. A slightly nutty-creamy development accompanies a building smoke that reaches BBQ burnt end appeal. Sherry fruit and sweetness is present but it is not the lead singer, it’s the backing trio that just keep the harmonies ticking along. Lovely stuff. It is the smoke and chocolatey marmalade that draw me back in though. F: Medium-long. Creamy cocoa, delicate spice notes and lingering embers. This is perhaps better than my expectations and lives up to the marketing hype. The extra age over the 10 and 12 have taken the sugars and dark fruits of the sherry cask and pushed them into dark toffee and cocoa. Supporting efforts fo marmalade are wonderful and with the exemplification of the smoke on the nose through to the palate we end up with a lovely maturity and balance without being lost in complexity. I’m wondering if this might be a bit of a sweet spot for ageing Highland Park spirit. Looking back at my taste for the 25 year old I’m not thinking there is a huge improvement from this point. Very excited for the 18 now thats for sure. [Pictured here on Boxing Day with a Christmas Tree coloured 450 million year old eclogite. This rock is from the Western Gneiss Region of Norway; a viking heart(land) you might say. Representing metamorphism of oceanic crust at around 50 km depth that occurred during the Caledonian Orogeny that built mountains across Scandinavia and Scotland] Distiller whisky taste #133 HP Running ranking (mostly for my benefit): 10: 3.75 12: 4 15: 4.25 25: 4.75 Valknut: 4.25

Nose: Maritime aromas of brine, shellfish and pebble beach lead the nose, backed by lemon zest, heather honey, apricot, grilled pineapple and a little sooty smoke. It’s a fresh, coastal nose given depth by honeyed sweet aromas and a subtle hint of oloroso sherry that contributes a balancing dry character. The nose gains depth over time but not great complexity, instead remaining fresh, crisp and coastal, but aromas of good oak cask do become obvious. Palate: Firm, sweet and gently spicy arrival centered on ginger, marmalade and dark chocolate-coated toffee. The smoke is definitely there but it is restrained at first, only building on subsequent tastes. Tropical and citrus fruit, mixed nuts, and a light hint of spice in the development. Like the nose the sherry cask contribution to the palate is very calm and controlled and the texture is delightfully creamy with good weight. Finish: Medium. Cocoa, coffee and a touch of sweet and briny smoke. A classic Highland Park nose that is reminiscent of the best aspects of the old 10 year expression but with more maturity and balance. The cask selection was very good and the oak has contributed a hidden strength of character to the profile. It is also perfect at the bottling strength of 44%. I did not add any water and I see no reason to do so. This is a very good whisky, and the best of the four Highland Park expressions I’ve tasted so far today. It starts out as a good but somewhat unassuming whisky but with time in the glass it grows in stature, and by the time the dram was finished I wished I could have poured myself another. Recommended. Tasted from a 30ml sample, bottle ordered. “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

I remember when i first tasted the 15yo Highland Park, a long gone expression, with the black and yellow label. It was fantastic. Years have passed and now another 15yo has arrived. This time a 44%abv, bottled in a ceramic decanter, that honours the ceramic jugs where whisky was held back in the 1800s. This is a new release called, Viking Heart. Pretty interesting thing. On the nose, burnt marshamllow; smoke and sown land, lemon peel and coffee. After a first sip, the aroma changed into a brie cheese, a horse stable and orange jam. It has a very clean note of a burnt pineapple, humidity and passion fruit. It really remind me of the milk that babies leave in the feeding bottle. Very complex. On the palate, i get notes of chocolate and milk. Super sweet, hazelnut, and Nutella. Marshmallows. Aftertaste is amazing. Burnt hay, recently cut grass and earthy. Iron, batteries, it is very maritime and salty. Oysters and sea notes. Quite a nice finish. Overall, this has lived to my good memories of what the original 15yo Highland Park from the 2000s was. A very nice, complex, full of flavor whisky, that is presented in quite a beautiful decanter. The palate it is very good, but it is the least amazing part, since the nose is beautiful and the Aftertaste is almost perfect. My score for it is 92 over 100.

I'm a huge fan of HP, particularly 18, so I was pleasantly surprised to see this. I especially love the look of the white bottle. Let's dive in! Nose: Delicious and rich. Honey, honey, and honey. Some citrus notes hiding in there as well, maybe some lemon and grapefruit. Just a hint of some leather and sea salt. I'm not getting much peat or smoke on the nose. Interesting there's some sweet spiciness as well like sassafras. Palate: Incredibly smooth with a lovely creamy mouthfeel. I'm going to have to spend some time with this one to sort out what's going on... Vanilla, honey, dark chocolate, and some spice, particularly black pepper. Some sea salt and smoke emerges, true to HP form. Tannins tickle the sides of the tongue begging me to pay attention to the finish. Finish: Long and chewy. Delicious bitter mild smoke with the tingling lingering on the sides of the tongue. There's honey sweetness that hangs around as well providing a fantastic balance to the overall flavour. In summary this is a fantastic whisky. I did a quick taste a couple week ago against HP 18 and it's not quite as good but still absolutely fantastic, especially for the price point. Definitely get a bottle.

A rich, malty and spicy nose. Right off I get the peat, but not in an overpowering way, just present and pleasant. I then detect sweet grass, baking spices, vanilla sponge cake, toasted birch wood, a bit of toffee, and a touch of orange marmalade. Sweet and spicy on the palate as well, but not too hot. Up front there’s plenty of malty sweetness, reminiscent of golden syrup, followed by a mid palate of pepper, allspice, and cinnamon stick. Then the fruit and peat notes blossom with sour oranges, a little lemon, a suggestion of pineapple, and a clean grassy peat. The body is nice and full, not heavy but coating. The legs are thin though and go quite quickly, followed by retreating sheets that eventually leave a hefty dew in the glass. Soft and medium in length, with notes of rich sherry kissed oak, subtle vanilla, and a wisp of smoke over a base of honey, the finish is nice and cozy. Well balanced and thoroughly enjoyable, this “Viking Heart” has certainly won mine. Nose: 10 Taste: 9 Body: 8 Finnish: 10

44%, chill filtered and natural colour. Nose: light peat, heather, butter scotch, crème burlee and pineapple. Palate: vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon and the famous HP honey heather peat. Finish: medium short with a hint of lemon zest, spices and mellow smoke. This Highland Park isn’t your typical HP, it’s lighter and less Christmas cake. It’s sweet with medium body and much more of a vanilla sponge type of HP. This is a good whisky, but it isn’t a great one. Like a self sabotaging star athlete Highland Park likes to hold itself back. The bottle of Cask Strength, batch 4 that I have next to this is a much better whisky at less cost. Speaking of price, this 15 year old is slightly more then double the cost of the 12 year old Highland Park, which I think offers much more in terms of value then this one. While I think this bottle is good, I don’t think the “juice is worth the squeeze” in this one due to how expensive it is.