Highland Park 15 Year

33 open bottles in my collection ranked through multiple blind tastings. Counting them down! #17: Highland Park . Single Malt Scotch. 43% ABV. 15 year old. Paid $90 I am convinced Highland Park had the most polished core range of age statement whiskies until they lost their wannabe Viking minds. As such, even though the 15 year old is so-so for VFM, I will buy another bottle just to collect the discontinued bottles. I can still easily find the 15 where I am at. This is not just an older and more complex version of the 12 or a younger sibling of the 18. While the 18 is the spiritual big brother of the 12; the 15 is the awkward middle child. It is lighter and friendlier due to being aged in American oak sherry rather than European oak. Red apples, red Twizzlers, powdered sugar and dough. Vanilla wood and just a hint of heathery Orkney peat. Although I did not have a direct comparison, this is probably as good as the old HP 12, which can still be had for about half the price, so it’s hard to justify purchasing too many HP 15s. Plus, for $20-50 more, you can get the legendary HP 18, which is easily worth the extra spending. Still, the HP 15 is a playful curiosity that is quite enjoyable. As general advice, snatch up the old bottlings of HP. Their new over-the-top tattoo-art bottles is like David Beckham – you ain’t tough, I don’t care how many tattoos you have. I would understand if Laphroaig went Viking, but HP? MARK: 88/100 PREVIOUSLY, ON BATMAN: #18: Glendronach. $59 (1L). 43%. 12 years. 87/100 #19: Ledaig. $60. 46.3%. 10 years. 87/100 #20: Longmorn. $94. 48%. 16 years. 87/100 #21: Maker’s Mark 46. $35 (375mL). 47%. NAS. 87/100 #22: Benjamin Prichard’s Double Barreled. $104. 45%. NAS. 87/100 #23: High West Campfire. $62. 46%. NAS. 86/100.

Up until now, all of my encounters with Highland Park have been post-Viking re-branding. The latter is pretty cool, but also kind of goofy. Anyway, in this review I'll turn back the clocks and dive into an HP expression that was dropped altogether. Before it was discontinued, HP had bumped this one up from a 40% to a 43%. This is one sits at 43. Nose: When I first cracked it, the peat was undetectable. However, upon comparing it to two unpeated sherry cask malts, the peat was clear as day. At this I'd call it a subtle peat aroma, emphasis on the subtle. The most prominent notes are lime and vanilla. Some honey. Beyond that, it's floral, grassy, leafy, and reminiscent of orchard fruits. This is one is rounded of by some sherry sweetness and a light oakiness. Very nice; just which it was a hair more potent. A couple years later and I’m back with a fresh bottle. I’m adding lime, orange, and plum. Palate: Heavy vanilla, followed by plum, orange peel, and lime. It's a combination of sherry and citrus notes. These are complimented by light salt, smoke, and oak spice. A very mild cinnamon kick at the end. Walnut and caramel. Surprisingly oily and leathery. Delicious. Finish: Short to moderate. Cinnamon and oak spice before fading into sherry sweetness. All in all, I'm glad to have found one of these. The last in the store, and the first I'd ever seen on the shelf. 4 for this one. It's incredibly enjoyable and is great as a sipper or as a background whisky. A lot to love here. This one just hits all the right notes. Say what you will about the marketing, I'm here for the whisky. Call it the 'HP 15 Viking Soul' and dress it up in over-the-top Nordic packaging; if this one makes a return, I'll be first in line.

I received this bottle for free over 5 years ago, and saved it for a special occasion because I knew this was being discontinued. After defending my dissertation I opened both this and a Macallan 17Y in celebration. There was no comparison between the two, this is the far superior Scotch, and one of the best Scotch whiskeys I've had. Before this year I've never had peated Scotch before, then I jumped right in the deep end with Ardbeg 10. I love that Scotch, but I really think the milder peated Scotch hits every note just right. This and Talisker 10Y being the best examples I've tried. Disclaimer - my bottle is 43% abv, but I could only find 40% abv listed on Distiller. The nose is a beautiful sherried peat, not overwhelming at all like a heavily peated Scotch. It is somewhat sweet, with a little citrus zest, maybe orange? It is drier on the taste, the oak and sherry stand out while the peat is more muted than I expected from nosing. I also get a little brine, but not nearly as much as other coastal or island Scotch. The wood lingers on the finish, as it is surprisingly oily and lasts long. Although it was aged in toasted barrels, not charred, I can't quite tell where that makes a difference. I would not say this is an overtly complex Scotch, but the flavors mesh together so well that it's highly drinkable. It's a shame you cannot find it regularly if at all these days, but it's possible one of their current releases is similar to this.

Ah the bastardized legacy which is Highland Park. Long before the NAS debacle which is still winding it's way to a sorry end or not, who really knows or cares, it had a solid core range. Now weirdly I had built it up in my mind as this legend of a distillery corrupted to it's core by aimless NAS releases however although there were plenty of those my top two out of the dozen HPs i've had have been Fire and Ice so go figure. I have Light and Dark to come and they are meant to be great so really my ravings about a legacy corrupted dont really hold true...although all those 4 are absolutely stupid pricing even though a couple are teenages so there is a grain of truth there. However that aside after those drams the standard 12 and 15 years seem a bit safe and boring to be honest, no fire in them excuse the pun. Apparently the age statement legacy was in turn a marketing effort as this was released for the TRE mkt which leads me to wonder what preceded this age stmt range? Anyhow this is a simple sweet lightly smoked pleasant well balanced dramdram nothing more or less. Solid 3.5

Nose - Bright dried red fruits (cherries, strawberries), lightly medicinal like goji berries, honey, very faint hint of fruity smoke, black tea. Taste - A bit thin on the palate, thin fruity floral honey, dried cherries and strawberries, black pepper spice, wisp of dry fruit wood smoke, hint of black tea bittersweet and wet tobacco, tellicherry peppercorns, light brine. Finish - Lingering lightly medicinal fruity sweet, goji berries, sweet spicy tellicherry peppercorn spice, gentle smoke from the morning after a campfire that used fruit (cherry/apple) wood. Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very well balanced lightly peated Scotch. It hits on all the right notes that I like with a complex balance of sweet and gentle smoke that keeps your tastebuds and nose wanting another go at it. It's definitely not an "everyday dram" as you sort of have to be in the mood for it; or at least I am with any peated Scotch. I think this would be best neat or with a tiny bit of water, ice might kill the subtle smoke and brine a bit, but I have yet to experiment with that.

Purchased on 4/9/18. Bottle killed on 4/11/19. Highland Park OB 15 years old 43% ABV Bottled 2014 Price: 90 USD The shy middle child of Highland Park’s once respected core range, this whisky is for those who appreciate soft, subtle single malts. It’s very floral and sweet initially, but there’s a rugged maritime edge as well. Lightly spicy and lightly smoky, you will find the 15 year less bold than the precocious 12 year old; and less robust than the lovely 18 year old. A failure to stand out is probably why this was the first of the three to be discontinued. This is a fine dram, but a passive one at that. It is more refined than the 12 year old, but not necessarily better. And at almost twice the price, that’s a problem. I will make sure I have at least one of the recently discontinued bottlings of the 12 and 18 year olds stashed away, but I will pass on re-purchasing this 15. Rating (price not factored): 85 / 100 Purchase satisfaction (price factored): 3 / 5