Highland Park 18 Year

Four years ago, I was just starting to explore very good whisky, whiskey and bourbon. I wrote a very short and simple review for Highland Park 18 year, declaring it one of my top 10. My recent stroll down memory lane has ignited a desire for me to revisit some of my older reviews and well... re-review them. The nose smells of deeper sweet notes surrounded by savory peat smoke. Not in any way acrid but more a savory, smoked pork shoulder type smoke. Bittersweet dark chocolate and cherry cordials set the stage for baking spices like cinnamon. The spice factor isn't sharp, it doesn't tickle the nose. And of course, the nose ends on the aforementioned peat smoke. All of the scents are mellow and meld together beautifully. The front of the taste is sweet and creamy. Buttercream, honey and dark chocolate. The peat smoke on 18 year is quite a bit more pronounced than the 12 but it isn't at all intrusive. The salty, savory smoke underlies the mid-back half of taste. Some zingy grapefruit adds a slightly citrusy twang mid taste and then baking spice pads the tongue giving just the slightest tingle. The finish is dry and spicy but very soft and approachable. Baking spices keep the tongue tingle there along with tannic oak and leather. Soft as it may be, the finish is long and coats the tongue quite well. Although this is less sweet than I remember, this is still top 10 in my memory. It really encompasses all of the flavors one might find in a top shelf single malt, softens the edges and blends them together expertly. Yeah, it is quite pricey but at least Highland Park 18 isn't allocated and rarer than unicorn blood. If you can spring the cash, it's well worth the buy.

A revisit, and this time with notes! Nose starts of with clear cigar ash, then cut apples, honeycomb cereal (think light honey, with a little dry, dusty, malt grain). What started dirty with the cigar ash has gone sweet, leaving the smoke but an afterthought. A few more minutes and now there's hot, dark caramel and brown butter. Really very nice to nose this. Palate is smooth and rich, very pleasing without being creamy or oily, with Golden Delicious apples transitioning to pears and honeydew and cracked barley to form a wonderful fruit medley that is perfectly balanced between tart and sweet. A few seconds of sweet on the tongue opens the door for the polite but pronounced entrance of briny salt spray which offers a savory balance to the fruits before shortly transitioning to a medium-long closing where the fruits are absent but the cigar smoke comes back and you realize it's actually been there all along, neatly tying the whole thing together from first nose to final close. Very, very good, and one that everyone should try if given the chance.

Nose: deep dark meadowfoam honey. Vanilla creme brulee, blackberry compote. Dark chocolate caramel. Very slight ocean spray around the edges of the nostrils. Dark orange marmalade. Palate: dark caramel, sharp oak acidity, medjool dates, earthy sherry. Sea breeze salinity/minerality presents as it transitions to finish. Gentle mild smoke throughout. Finish: medium long, rugged maritime wood, petrichor/forest floor after a downpour/smoldering, damp, wet, coastal campfire. (Think Oregon coast on an August morning at Ft. Stevens state park near Astoria as the fog and mist roll in with a light drizzle as you huddle in the canpoy a couple meters away from the smoldering morning firepit). Lingering stone minerality.

definitely let this sit too low for a bit too long but this beauty was a hard one to kill. Nose: sweet smoke, sea spray dark cherries, candied orange peel, sweet and earthy sherry. Dark honey (carrot or meadowfoam), a rich dark chocolate begins to emerge alongside an almost dark vanilla bean? Palate: Gentle, almost floral peatiness. A nice sea spray throughout the whole palate. Dark cherries appear here too, alongside the candied orange peel. I've gotten some apple from this before but not getting it quite as much here now. Finish: gently warming, dark fruits, a floral thread remains here too. Moderately dry, medium length.

Nose: light and gentle smoke, crisp apples, honey. A splash of sea spray. Hint of cinnamon and raisin. A gentle sweetness that is not sickly or overpowering. Palate: complex and deep. Honeyed malt, crisp orchard fruit. Gentle salinity, very slight backing hint of peat smoke that balances out the fruitier elements. Dark fruit/earthy sherry influence. Getting a more prominent influence of charred oak here than I remember, similar to the note from Glenfiddich's 14y.o. Bourbon Barrel Reserve. Cinnamon spice. Incredibly smooth. Finish: lightly spicy and warming oak tannin. Hints of sea spray

Nose: crisp orchard apple, a very gentle coastal peat with a splash of salt air. Floral honey. Cinnamon, caramel, dried black cherries/plum. Elegant. Sherry influence is strong but doesn't come through in an overly syrupy or earthy way. Palate: a symphony of flavor. Begins with a nice fresh orchard fruit/apple tone, leads to sweet caramel and vanilla on the mid palate transitioning into a touch of candied orange peel balanced with a coastal/sea breeze salinity and touch of smoke. Finish: mild salinity, numbing oak tannin, warm and moderatelt long.