If I’m not mistaken, this was part of Highland Park’s core range at one time. It did not survive the distillery’s viking-rebranding effort. Fortunately, I was able to nab a dusty old bottle of this before it was too late. Let’s turn back the clocks with HP. Nose: Heavy citrus and red fruit. Lime and orange. Huge cranberry note. Black cherry. Honeydew, apple, and pineapple. Raisin, date, and fig. Sun-dried tomato. Cocoa and pipe smoke. Vanilla, butterscotch, and toffee. Brine and seaweed with a touch of peat and campfire smoke. A touch of black bean, red pepper chili. Palate: Gala apple, cranberry, raspberry, cherry, strawberry, raisin, date, and fig. Chestnut and plum. The first-fill sherry is very prominent. Caramel and milk chocolate. Malt and toffee. Almond. Wintergreen. Vanilla. A combination of barrel smoke/campfire with some sea salt and soft pretzel. Lime, orange peel, and honeydew. Black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Seaweed, sea salt, black bean and red pepper chili. Cola, raisin, date, fig, apple, raspberry, strawberry, and plum. Honeydew, lime, and pineapple. Black currant. Vanilla, toffee, and malt. Chestnut, almond, and oak. Black pepper, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Moderate-long finish. Dark Origins offers a solid combination of first-fill sherry and bourbon barrel-aged HP. I won’t pretend that this is something I would’ve come up with on my own, but I will say that this cask combination lends itself a successful marriage with the Highland Park spirit. At $70, I definitely feel that I got my money’s worth. Especially considering that this expression was long-discontinued when I bought it. There’s a lot going on, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some long-aged whisky in here despite its NAS status. 4/5. Solid stuff from HP. I’m very glad I managed to get one.
About this bottle
Dark Origins is a whisky produced in memory of the brand's charismatic founder, Magnus Eunson, who is reputed to have done some "dark" duty (meaning, smuggling whisky under cover of night to avoid tax collectors) in his past. This is a member of the "core expressions" collection from this Orkney distillery, and uses twice as much first fill sherry cask in its resting (20%) than the 12 Year. It is also non chill-filtered.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 50 parsed reviews.
I have a weakness for highland park, because i love it's marketing. Dark Origins is all about a lovely smugglers story who not only founded the distillery ilegally, but also had secret ways to sell the whisky to the public. Bottled at 46.8%abv; auburn poslished mahogany color, lovely. On the nose a very soft peat note, not what you expect from your typical Highland Park. Brownies, Slight Tobbacco, Fresh forest, a Slight salt note and Garlic bread. A little dissapointed on the nose, it made me think i was in front of a bad dram... how wrong i was about it. On the palate is was awesome: Caramel, Orange, Brownies, Oaky, Acid, big Smoke note, some Salt and Clove. Finish was long and salty with hints of smoke and bonfire. Overall this dram is an 89 over 100, points deducted on the nose but definitively a good whisky.
Think Glenlivrt Founders Reserve but with the full body and character of typical of most Isle scotch. N: citrus, honey, fruity, rich, sweet P: Sweet, fruity with vanilla on the tongue, touch of peat?, citrusy orange note peaking through reminds me of orange creamcicle F: Sweet and smooth, if it weren't for the back up fruity notes this would literally taste like I just ate an orange creamcicle with a touch of peat. I like this bc the orange comes out of nowhere on the back and lasts into the finish. If you want this straight, DO IT! Would be my preference. Could see this as an interesting choice in Cocktails. Definitely would need it to be spirit driven to not lose complexity.
It smells kind of bland, but it tastes unique. There is a lot of alcohol, but it is also shockingly herbal. That bitter herbal bite is rough. There is some stale bread and there is also a lot of alcohol. It's extremely rich with a nice smokey backing. Don't count out the peat either. Mostly, it tastes quite old, which is nice and also surprising in its aggressiveness for Highland Park. There is plenty of sweetness, but it doesn't overtake the rich, aged flavor. There's a hint of apple, but it isn't too strong. There isn't as much depth and complexity as I would like, but evaluated as an aged whiskey, this is good. Despite the stale bread, I'd be happy to drink this.
Reaching the end of this bottle and it sounds like it has been taken out of the core range, too bad. Nose: Dried fruits, to me it is dried strawberries and cherry. I hint of that HP smoke, gentle and floral. Palate: The dried fruits continue to the palate with some vanilla and the gently heather smoke of HP. The sherry shows here but is not overpowering, for a NAS a nice blend of some old with new so the malt still makes an appearance. Nice balance. Finish: Medium. I’m happy this is higher than 40% ABV so you get a little bit of lingering finish, but nothing like a cask strength whiskey. Overall a 3.75 for me.
This NAS Highland Park dram is excellent. It boasts that it is the kin of the Highland Park 18, as it should. The nose is rich and promising, and the honeycomb note I associate with Highland Park is present here. On the palate this whisky is initially salty. A quenching minerality accompanies luxe notes of black plum and cardamom. The peat and sherry partner stunningly in Dark Origins. The waxy Highland Park trademark is limited to the nose this time, as the mouthfeel is actually somewhat oily. I enjoy a malty and spicy finish and a decadently oaken aftertaste. A truly excellent whisky.
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