Highland Park 18 Year Viking Pride

Continuing the deep dive into Highland Park we arrive at the fabled 18. Tonight I pour a 30 ml sample but to my shame there was a bottle of this precious liquid on my shelf many years ago around a year into my whisky journey. I had no right having it. Back in my early days discovering distiller I saw the 99 rating (admittedly on the old bottling), and then discovered the two time winner of the accolade “worlds best spirit”. I was/am an idiot. I wasted that bottle through a lack of appreciation and undestanding of what I was drinking. Now I’m back. Rounding out my Distiller tastes of the core range age statements. Only the 21 evades me, so if anyone wants to send me 30 ml, I’d be much obliged. The 10, 12, and 15 have all been subtly different, each beautiful in their own rights. The 25 was exceptional. I now have very high expectations of the 18. N: Wow, I was not expecting such a floral explosion. Beautifully fragrant and crisp with light honey and sherry cask sweetness, and the faintest notion of smoke. A soft vanilla presence is there with a little malt cereal and a delicious orange oil. Over time a little oak tannin becomes apparent. Dare I say it, as good as the 25? The longer I sit with this the more I am drawn in. Is the best thing about Highland Park the nose? The smoke is taking on a slightly briny-maritime character and combined with the florals, just brilliant. P: Creamy and rich arrival. Sweet, spicy, and bitter; all the players are here with excellent balance. Dark cherry with syrupy consistency provides depth of sweetness, espresso-mocha adds a velvety bitterness, and peppery cinnamon and ginger add some spicy vibrancy. Behind these major players though are honey, barley, more fruitiness, and a toffee-fudge creaminess. The smoke is ever so slightly salted and as per my other HP notes, like BBQ burnt ends. F: Medium. Honied malt, orange spritz and a gentle salty-smoke. The exiting texture is gingery and lightly prickly with softening milk chocolate fullness. Oh dear. Past Robert is an absolute moron. I had no idea how good this was, a bottle wasted; never again. This is a truly delectable whisky with depth and character beyond what I was expecting. Again, so similar to the other age statement offerings but with wonderful new developments coming to the table. What I find particularly interesting is that the 25 is perhaps not as exciting. I think the added age on the 25 may have muted some of the more subtle notes I get here in the 18. The 25 definitely doesn’t have the same incredibly floral bouquet on the first nose. At 1/4 the price of the 25 the 18 gets my pick of the age statement bunch, in my opinion its as good. [Pictured here with a garnet-corona granulite from the Lindas Nappe of the Bergen Arc in Nordhordland, Norway. This is one of my pride and joy rocks, perfectly fitting for Highland Parks Viking Pride. This rock is a very high temperature metamorphic rock formed 930 million years ago that got caught up in the roots of the Caledonian Mountains that formed 420 million years ago] Distiller whisky taste #134 HP Running ranking (mostly for my benefit): 10: 3.75 12: 4 15: 4.25 18: 4.75 25: 4.75 Valknut: 4.25

Rating: X/23 I noticed that I was about to hit 800 tastings on Distiller, so I figured I deserved to get to do an easy, reasonably tasty one. So, for this occasion, I pulled down my nearly-empty bottle of Highland Park 18 that has oxidized far too much .I deeply regret not moving the juice to a smaller bottle, but here we are. This isn't representative of the actual quality of Highland Park 18, so I won't be trying to analyze it too much and I won't be assigning a rating. The flavor is much flatter than it once was, but it still has a tasty richness. I enjoy the mild layer of smoke and peat. mixed with the rich, sweet fruitiness, sea spray, and aromatic spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove, and maybe a little allspice). The minerality in here is rich and goes very well with the sea spray. The fruit has a little bit of cherry with the apricot and tangerine flavors being more dominant. It's interesting hwo this dram combines the mustiness and complexity of an old scotch with the rich tartness of one aged for a shorter duration in a hot climate. Yet the rich malt balances the whole thing out. Very impressive, particularly given how greatly the oxygen reduced the complexity. This is actually much better than I'd expected it to be given how significantly the oxidation had impacted it the last time I tasted it. It isn't the 21 I gave it previously, but It's at least a 16. If I had to rate this based on what I'm tasting right now, I think I would probably give it an 18 (or maybe a 19). That's as far as I'll go with rating it though. In terms of value for the money, this is acceptable at $120 even in its current state, though it isn't an excellent buy in its oxidized form when there are cheaper options like Amrut Fusion - or Wild Turkey Rare Breed, if you're willing to take a bourbon instead. Really, if you're getting anything out of this tasting, it should be that some bottles (e.g. Springbank, Russell's Reserve, and Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof) improve substantially with time and oxygen, whereas others (e.g. this one) get worse. It's great to let bottles that benefit oxidize for a while, but you need to know which ones those are. Don't let this one oxidize. Do drink a good dram when you have something to celebrate.

For this review, @skillerified was generous enough to set me up with a blind sample with the #8 on to explore and possibly venture a guess on what it could be. So time to open this one up, write out some notes and hopefully be close. The nose starts with a light effervescent mixture of citrus, sherry and barley field funk then dark chocolate covered raisins and sugar cookies followed by a smoldering campfire that fades to the background of fruits of salted mango, charred pineapple and prunes that transitions to candied ginger, light leather and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium yet creamy mouthfeel starting with a light effervescent mixture of citrus, sherry and barley field funk then salted dark chocolate with a caramel center, cinnamon raisin oatmeal cookies and espresso followed by fruits of mango purée, charred pineapple and prunes that transitions to candied ginger, vintage leather and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with light ash, ocean brine, creamy mango purée, dark chocolate raisins, shortbread cookies, espresso, vintage leather and polished oak. This is a delightful dram that the nose has a wonderful balance of light peat, farmyard funk, mild sherry and creamy citrus carries over to the palate with a light yet airy mouthfeel that maintains the balance found on the nose with the addition of espresso before finishing with a mixture of earthy seaside, sweet citrus and well-aged oak that fades at a medium length. I’ll probably be wrong, but I’ll venture a guess with this being something from Springbank. Alright, so @skillerified was this indeed a Springbank product? The answer and what this sample actually was is none other than ………………. Highland Park Viking Pride 18 year!!! Aww hell, I was way off!!! Oh well, this was a damn tasty pour and one I’d be happy to drink anytime. Thanks for the dram @skillerified it was fun to break this one down and take a guess.

Nose: An excellently subtle amalgam of honey, sherry and mild sooty smoke. Vanilla and sherry oak cask in the background but neither is too forward, the sweet top notes being allowed to sing without interruption. Dried fruits, malt and a dash of orange liqueur that grows in intensity over time. Fragrant, heady floral tones. This is lovely – I could nose it all day and it just gets better with time. Palate: Sweet, full and rich on the arrival with notes of old orange liqueur, cherries and well-controlled preserved ginger in syrup. Luscious, decadent but elegant. Honey, barley sugar, vanilla nougat, chocolate, butterscotch and sherry balanced by a touch of peat, salt and pepper. The texture is creamy, enveloping and mouth-watering. Finish: Medium. Rich malt, a little smoke and brine, and orange nectar fading into a milk chocolate aftertaste. A lovely whisky. Excellently balanced, complete and very, very satisfying. It’s a while since I tasted an old Highland Park. Silly me. So, is this as good as previous expressions of the 18 year old – that’s the obvious question. Well, yes – pretty much. I’m going from memory and my old tasting notes here, but IMHO it is very close and although the profile has changed it has not lost quality. I don’t believe there was any change of the blending recipe for this single malt when the bottle design changed, and any detectable differences are just down to batch-drift and changes in cask supply. I think it used to have a more obvious and sophisticated sherry component but that has been replaced by a succulent orange-centred fruit character which is very compelling, and I have no complaints. Tasted from a 30ml sample. Bottle ordered (it is worth the money and still one of my favourite whiskies for that desert island). “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

After hearing so much about this one (Or at least the old 18) I decided to splurge and give it a try. Nose: Quite a bit going on here. My nose isn't sophisticated enough to pull out individual flavors, but 'rich' is probably a good way to describe it. It has a savory odor that reminds me slightly of mushrooms. Taste: Well balanced, perhaps overly so. I get a hint of richness like I get from the nose, again perhaps mushrooms? Perhaps a bit of ash here as well/little smoke. The finish is short to medium, warming as it goes down. I get toffee on the back end. Now for my gripes with this whisky. It is very well made, as I said, perhaps overly so. There's a few layers of flavor here I can realistically pick out, and it's certainly a nice whisky that is absolutely not going to ruffle any feathers. However, I cannot say I care for the mouthfeel. It feels very 'thin' in my mouth, like I'm drinking water. I think this is a whisky that could really benefit from a higher ABV than 43% to help the mouthfeel issue and perhaps bring out a bit more of the richness I get from this. Ultimately, this whisky is very well made, but I wouldn't buy it again at this price point. Frankly, $150 is a really serious asking price and you can get some absolutely incredible whisky for less. To me, this is worth perhaps a hundred, and would likely make a great gift for someone who wants a 'balanced' whisky without overly aggressive flavor profiles. Personally, I couldn't likely justify buying a bottle again when so many good alternatives exist at a lower price (Ardbeg, Lagavulin etc.). Perhaps pick a bottle up to give it a try, or better yet, try it from a bar or someone else.

It has smoke, but it's not overwhelming. The flavor develops throughout the drink, bringing in prunes, raisins, wood, caramel, cream. It's smooth, rich, and superbly balanced. It covers the whole spectrum and is a delight to drink. It's definitely fruity, but the smoke quickly balances that flavor before giving way to brine. The price is high, but it is hard to argue that this scotch is not complex and we'll balanced. Amazing. This is like if someone took Oban 14 and redesigned it to maintain the depth while avoiding the problem of conflicting flavors. Highland Park nailed it with this. The real magic of this scotch though is that no matter what you've had before it, it tastes at least good, usually great, and sometimes amazing. There is no other drink I have ever had that tastes good on all occasions. The subtlety required to achieve this is truly impressive and not matched by any other alcohol I have ever tasted. Smoky with salt and sea spray, but backed by sweet toffee, luscious orange, and mild apple. There is a hit of vanilla in here too and it definitely tastes aged with a coconut undertone hanging out there. It's sweet, smooth, and luxurious. Although not perfect, this drink is a triumph of balancing reasonable complexity with delicious, well-executed flavors that marry nicely. This is arguably less complex than Highland Park The Dark, but it is richer and has better flavors. It's arguably too in-your-face but it avoids the mineral notes and I love that about it. This is a masterpiece. There is so much going on here and the flavors range from good to excellent. This might not quite match Glenfarclas 25, but it is a capable rival.