Highland Park Dragon Legend

According to the team at HP the Dragon Legend bottling was inspired by Sigurd the dragon slayer who licked dragon’s blood from his thumb and was granted powers of wisdom and prophesy. I think perhaps the marketing push is trying to hard. For this release HP have focussed on their classic sherry seasoned European oak casks but put with a higher proportion of Orkney peated malt than normal. Hopefully this is a build on from last nights more intensely smoky Valkyrie… N: Initially full but soft with a developing complexity. A toasty wood mixes with nutty and feinty slightly sweaty notes. There is a mulchy to teabag like quality here too. The peat smoke builds but remains in the realm of woody and slightly herbal. Working really hard I can dig up the fruit sweetness and winey notes contributed by the sherry cask, but they are not stars of this show. Not my favourite HP nose, and a little too one dimensional compared to recent HP delights. P: Immediate presence of smoke, an earthy and slightly floral smoke that fills the mouth leaving room for strong black pepper and an oily texture. Malty-cereals come next and bring salted pork, sherry fruits of dates and cherry(?), and dehydrated lemon. Oiliness develops to slightly leathery or tobacco like. Pepper remains constant, smoke builds its presence, and over time a HP floral-heathery honey develops. A lot more enticing than the nose suggested would follow. F: Medium-long. Drying smoke fades to a peppery close that slightly pushes out the malt and lemon notes. I was expecting more from the sherry casks, but the Dragon name of this bottle should have foretold me of the smoke that was to come forward. I like the restrained use of peat smoke by HP, its always delicate and intriguing. This is a much more forceful representation of their peat profile. The delicate dehydrated lemon, or maybe preserved lemon for some palates, is a nice brightness and the malty flavours along with some of the feinty leathery or sweaty notes are quite nice counterparts to the smokiness. I don’t mind this in the slightest. But, where I have been finding HP to be a ‘bright’ exploration of peat, the dragon legend feels comparatively ‘dark’. If I want darkness I can’t help but feel that Ardbeg 10 or Talisker 10 would be better places to go as this is, to me at least; a little one dimensional and in need of some more character befitting such an ambitious name. [Pictured here with this drams Viking themed rock, a 450-400 million year old garnet bearing olivine-websterite from Holsnøy, Norway. This rock is an incredible representative of our upper mantle at depths of up to 185 km. Rather than being a typical olivine rich peridotite this rock is enriched in vibrant green chromium-pyroxene] Distiller whisky taste #136 HP Running ranking (mostly for my benefit): 10: 3.75 12: 4 15: 4.25 18: 4.75 25: 4.75 Valknut: 4.25 Valkyrie: 4.25 Dragon Legend: 3.25

So yesterday I received a 2oz sample of this newest NAS Highland Park from my good friend @LeeEvolved he himself having received a 6oz sample from our mutual friend @PBMichiganWolverine. So thanks to the both of you for the chance to try this guy out. I have many, MANY other samples to choose from at the moment, but this one caught my interest and I had to try it ASAP. Dragon Legend is made with a higher percentage of peated malt than its standard core range. Bottled at 43.1% ABV and is natural color of honey gold and is most likely chill filtered. Big juicy sherry notes jump out on the nose. Raisins, figs, sherry, maple, caramel, molasses. Slightly smoky, but not too noticeable compared to the sherry notes. Floral, heather honey, candy apples, light oak and Juicy Fruit gum. A light earthy/mineral note. The peat is here, but very much the floral Orkney peat vs the intensely earthy and vegetal peat of Islay. Plums, grilled apricots, pickled ginger, pecans and almonds. I love this style nose, big rich sherry full of flavor. This is not one of the more intense examples of this style, but it is a good one. The palate has soft but flavorful peat, lovely sherry, but not too intense on either front. Walnuts, pecans, sherried fruits - apples, plums, blackberries, strawberries, grapes. Sweet vermouth, cantaloupe, cloves, ginger. Threads of smoke weave in and out, but never dominate. A medium bodied mouthfeel that is creamy and mouth coating. A medium long finish with sherry, nuts, light peat, cloves and is dry. I really wasn’t expecting this much sherry from an expression that is hanging its hat on having higher than normal amounts of peated malt. The peat is there, and is perceptively higher than the 12 year old, but the sherry is the star here. It seems like a 65/35 blend of HP 12 and Macallan 12. Fairly complex at times but also elegant in its simplicity at other times. Master of Malt lists this at $43 and at that price this is totally worth it. 4.25. Cheers

Nose: Spirity, sweaty, nutty, autumn leaves, Darjeeling tea, dried apple, herbal potpourri, humus, damp moss and sweetly decaying tree-stumps. Sherry and very light peat smoke. Primarily a grassy, herbaceous nose with sweet overtones. Palate: Sweet malt and black tea in the arrival with a definite smoke presence (more obvious than on the nose). The peat smoke builds a little in the development with salted plums, ginger chunks in syrup, dried dates and lemon preserved in olive oil. There is a progression to dryness through the palate with leathery brine notes appearing but sweetness remains apparent throughout. The texture is full and creamy. Finish: Medium. The palate is drying, but also has sweet smoky malt notes and grassy cereal. This is the 3rd of a flight of 6 Highland Park whiskies that I’m tasting today, and it is the first to show a definite sherry influence. However this is no sherry-monster but rather presents a crisp leafy-walnut skin character and indicates either second-fill or very lightly seasoned first-fill oloroso casks. In many ways it is the complimentary whisky to the Spirit of the Bear expression, with a sherry casking focus rather than ex-bourbon. The nose develops given some time in the glass as its initial shyness is overcome. The palate is good, it lacks a little in complexity and is a touch on the watery side but not enough to spoil the experience – it’s dry finish saves it. However this is obviously quite young whisky. I seldom say this but here is one whisky I would like to see at slightly higher proof. I think this young lightly-sherried profile would be very good indeed at 48% where the thin, almost watery body would be filled-out by a more intense presence. This is the least impressive of the three drams I’ve had so far today, but we’re still talking low 80s for the score, which isn’t shabby at all, and at the asking price it’s good value. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

I ended up receiving a rather large pour of this from my NJ connection: @PBMichiganWolverine. I knew my friend @Generously_Paul would get a kick out of this one so I siphoned off a couple of ounces for him and proceeded to enjoy the last 4-5oz for myself. I hadn’t really searched for this one at all, so it came as a surprise when it was included in my last trade with Mr B. This is a TRE that’s a deep, rich gold that makes medium sized droplets and slow running legs in the Glencairn. It’s bottled at 43.1% and I believe it sells for less than $60 online (if you can still find it- it sold rather well). The nose was initially very sherry heavy. The peat and smoke made its way from the glass with a little coaxing after 10-15 minutes and brought some salt and pepper notes along with a decent hit of zesty oak and light citrus. Dark berries and caramel formed a bookend around the nose by showing up early and reasserting itself later on. A truly wonderful nose. The palate was predominantly smoky to me, slightly harsh and dry while allowing a bit of buttery vanilla and salt to round things out. The mouth feel was somewhat thick before turning drier than I’d prefer. The finish was short-to-medium with a nice lingering spice and warmth. Ultimately it ended up oaky and dry with wisps of smoke attaching to the tongue and roof of your mouth. It ends the way you expect an island, peaty whisky should. Overall, it makes the short list of quality NAS, TRE releases that have come out of the islands/Islay recently. There’s definitely good value for the money spent, as well. 4-4.25 stars, easily. Cheers.

Dragon Legend tells the story of the dragon FAFNIR (Fafner), from the Volsunga Saga of the Vikings. Fafnir was the son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and brother of Regin and Odder. When Loki killed Odder, Hreidmar was compensated with gold; but between Regin and Fafnir they agreed to kill his father and keep the gold. One day, Fafner stole all of Regin's gold and became a Dragon, which is a symbol of greed. Regin ordered his adopted son, Sigurd, to kill the dragon and when he did, he bathed in his blood becoming immortal. Sigurd then killed his father Regin, as he discovered that Regin was going to murder him to keep the gold. Bottled at 43.1%abv, this whisky has notes of orange candy, peat, glaze from the pork chops, Bbq sauce. Spicy and peppery, it also develops peaches in syrup, incense, moss, honey and new wood on the nose. On the palate it is like an orange juice mixed with vanilla and a bit of pepper. A bit watery, it has notes of coconut. The aftertaste is excellent. Burnt hay, salt, sulfur, ginger. Smoky and tender. Leaves you with a cereal sensation of corn pellets and cinnamon. Overall, this is a very interesting whisky, easy to enjoy and complex enough to score well. The history and good marketing add to the experience. I rate it 86 out of 100.

Given the glowing consensus here from the cream of the whiskerati, I put aside my skepticism about yet another Highland Park NAS and dug out the sample I received from @PBMichiganWolverine, ignoring all the more rarified stuff that I still haven’t got around to. But by Odin’s beard, was it was worth it. The nose was a totally unexpected mix of heather, pears, clementines and lemons, plus a Pick-N-Mix bag of pear drops and sherbet lemons. First impressions upon tasting were of a rich, toffee drizzle, not unlike the one that graced my post-Yom Kippur honey cake last night. Further contemplation revealed a milky underlayer that evoked a quick hit of pistachio ice-cream and a sip of tea with Carnation Milk. The finish is long and super spicy. The palate is far less complex than the nose, but it’s altogether a delightful dram at a reasonable price. The only downside is that I now have to pay more attention to Highland Park.