Highland Park Full Volume

It smells strong. There is a lot of smoke on the palate, but the defining feature initially is the iodine. Once that passes, some surprising apricot comes forth. There are substantial cereal notes present as well. It reminds me a bit of a cross between Highland Park 18 and Laphroiag 10. Some medicinal notes hang behind, with a hint of Band-Aids showing through. The herbal elements are light but there, taking on a more dusty flavor than the usual rotting, minty, or licorice flavors. There is definitely some mint though. This is really good! The balance could use some work but it has some interesting stuff going on. The fruits eventually include apples, dates, and raisins, further enhancing the complexity. The initial hit of iodine fades, making the drink more interesting. Some meaty notes come through and they bring with them a hint of almond. There are a lot of fun flavors coming out here and the flavors that do come out are quite good. This is a surprisingly underrated find. How is this not beloved? Here's a weird comparison: this is a bit lighter in flavor and a lot lighter in color than Tullibardine Burgundy is, but it has a lot more complexity. There's smoke and peat, but also fresh oranges and apples, and some nice cereal. The flavor is quite controlled with a good deal of complexity. I'd say that it's better than Glenrothes Whisky Maker's Cut, but is not on the level of Highland Park 18. The finish is clean and tasty. There's something a little perfumey here but it doesn't get out of hand. The flavor elegantly skirts the taste of alcohol though it does have a little I'd editable bitterness and is less full than I would like. It say it's better than Springbank 10, but it is in the same ballpark. The complexity and execution of the flavors that it has are to be commended, but it needs some more to fill it out. This is a terrific sipper that falls short of being world-class. It's delightful though. It compares very nicely with Highland Park The Dark at a fraction of the price. The flavor is similarly a little lacking in fullness, but it has some more citrus and sea spray instead of cherry and mineral (an odd distinction, I know). It's a tough call between these two, for sure. I might lean in favor of The Dark, but it's hard to tell whether that's because of bias. This has a nicer overall flavor than Springbank Hazelburn 13 does, even though it has a lighter and less mature flavor. The smoke is balanced with grass though it doesn't bring out wet wood. There's some nice fruit in here adding sweetness, though the caramel sweetness is on the immature side. In that regard, it reminds me a bit of a more mature Westward. The iodine sure does come through from the peat. Tobacco (which has some herbal elements) and vanilla come through with some nice tangerine. There's a bit of grass, but it is not overwhelming. This reminds me a lot of a peated Irish whiskey without the bad flavor and with some more lightness. In some ways, it seems like an improved Green Spot (though it certainly does have that Highland Park balanced profile. The balance is nice despite having a light character. There isn't an excessive amount of complexity, but the distinct flavors do flow into each other. It's probabaly not as good as Springbank 10 is for the money, but it's quite good nonetheless. It's also sort of like more complex and balanced Johnnie Walker. This is really good.

Seventeen Highland Parks, damn. Lowest I’ve ranked is 2.75/5, and I average out at 3.8/5. I think, I should probably shout from the roof top that Highland Park are great (marketing BS aside). Shouting from the rooftops, at full volume. See what I did there. Masterful lead in. Arguably this is one of HPs most unique liquids. Instead of the typical interplay of bourbon and sherry casks; full volume is casked exclusively in first fill bourbon casks. Allegedly this “turned up the volume on those delicious creamy bourbon notes.” N: Slightly waxy. Vanilla and fudgey depths layer with malt to make a bakery/pastry sensation. A slight mineral note contributes to a more nuanced character with a citrus peel and wood spice. The light peat is a nice backing that wafts through but it perhaps lacks the signature HP herbal-floral character you would expect. A simple nose, but it works well enough. P: Interesting. A mirror of the nose but with a little chaotic buzz to it. Some slightly sweet smoke notes build then quickly change direction to a little spicy heat. Vanilla cream is the central thread that links the chaos and amongst it all there is, toasty malt, a little brown sugar, coconut, stone fruit and some herbal-bbq notes carried in by the peat smoke. F: Medium. The malt is most apparent here, it gets quite dry and woody and maybe leans a little into the coconut, and possibly even charred pineapple. Full Volume. An interesting marketing twist from HP, away from the typical viking garb. Picking this up, I was thinking Spinal Tap and turning it all the way up to 11. I thought someone was going to burst through the wall like the Kool Aid Man and beat me over the head with an electric guitar. I thought wrong. This felt lazy. HP has a remarkable delicacy and powerful grasp of you when done well; not so much here. Rather, despite a clean and simple nose, and little buzzy palate, the rest was dull by normal HP standards. I don’t know if the 17 y/o age statement and safe/dull profile is a reflection of using up stocks or an experiment gone wrong but this isn’t HP, and it is certainly nothing you would expect for 17 years, especially compared to the 17 light and (magical) dark expressions. Sadly the best of HP, the heathery peat, is a mere shadow of its normal glory, and the richness imparted by the normal sherry casks is sorely lacking. This is Highland Park dialled down to an inoffensive 5, not a full volume 11. Distiller whisky taste #199 [Pictured here with another viking rock, as is now the norm for HP. This is a cordierite bearing pegmatite from Risør in Southern Norway. Little is known about this location with its exact position tightly guarded. The rock, as best as I can deduce is a product of very high grade metamorphism where partial melting occurred and coarse grained igneous pegmatites created. The rock is predominantly quartz and plagioclase but host beautiful sky blue cordierite crystals also. Lovely] HP Running ranking: 10: 3.75 12: 4 15: 4.25 18: 4.75 25: 4.75 Valknut: 4.25 Valkyrie: 4.25 Valfather: 4 Dragon Legend: 3.25 Voyage of the Raven: 3.5 Spirit of the Bear: 3.25 Loyalty of the Wolf: 2.75 Wings of the Eagle: 4 The Light: 4.25 The Dark: 5 Mjolner: 4.5 Full Volume: 3.25

I tried this at a liquor show a while back and remembered enjoying it. Hence the purchase. HP gets a lot of flack for pumping out expensive NAS releases like its nothing. Nice to see them but out a well-matured malt at a reasonable price. Let's get into it. Nose: Light peat and sulfur. Smoky and spicy, with some cinnamon and black pepper. Some vanilla and honey round it out a bit. Lime, lemon, and orange add a layer of citrus. Emphasis on the lime. A little grilled pineapple in there as well. Malty and grassy. Surprisingly soft for the proof (47.2% ABV.) Good nose, not great. Palate: Much more vibrant than the nose suggested. A wave of brine and sea salt compliments a nice hit of peat smoke. Apple and pear play nicely with the lime, lemon, and orange. Orchard and citrus fruits make for a great combination here. Cinnamon and black pepper translate. The bourbon cask adds vanilla and caramel. Malty with a bit of custard. It's oaky, as one would expect of a 17 (maybe 18?) year-old malt. Solid palate. Finish: Peat smoke, brine, sea salt, cinnamon, and black pepper. Classic HP black bean red pepper chili. The lemon and lime carry over in a big way, especially the latter. Caramel and vanilla as well. All adding up to a moderate, bordering on long finish. Nice conclusion. Kudos to Highland Park for this one. I know it didn't get great reviews, but I think this is a great value. The nose is nothing to write home about, but the palate and finish pick up the slack. 100% bourbon aged Highland Park? Worthwhile experiment because the product is solid overall. Respectable proof. 17+ years old. Sub-$100 (I grabbed it for $90.) This one checks a lot of boxes. And it doesn't hurt that the juice tastes pretty damn good. I seem to be in the minority with my opinion here so I'd read around before you buy. But I say job well done here. And if you're a Highland Park fan, I say this is a must buy. It's interesting to see what they can do without sherry casks. The result is one of my favorite HP releases to date.

I'm not sure if this one goes to 11, but at 47.2 I think we're going to hear this band pretty loud and clear. This might be the only HP I've ever had that wasn't sherry finished to some degree, i'd have check on a few of those NAS's but I feel like they all had at least a bit. I also noticed some disappointing reviews lately and this gave me an excuse to go back to this one, the bottle is getting scary low but heck if you can tell easily with the stupid black bottle. Nose - fruity esters over vanilla and some more savory earthy/peaty elements. Taste - classic bourbon cask finishing up front, sweet vanilla malts. Then we transition into a more classic HP profile, with oak and smoke, and savory meaty malt notes. It never over powers with peat, but it brings out all kinds of nice oak, some sour, some sea salt. I'm sorry but this is for about 100 bucks and I've seen it on sale for into the 60's or 70's, this is awesome whisky for that price. I'm sure these 300 dollar, special wood casks, etc are great, but for my money they have a lot of work to pass this guy. 3 stars - keep in mind my average is a 2.0. A 3.0 is a very healthy and very strong score that I save for whisky that really should be sought out for those who appreciate it. if you like bourbon barrel finishing and like HP's malt, this is a must get, but yeah we're not into the A's or anything crazy either.

You know i love Highland Park; and i was eager to try this one since the whole marketing is very "Rock and Roll". The Name is Full Volume, and the box of the whisky is shaped as a Guitar Amp. Distilled in 1999 and matured in 2017, matured in first filled bourbon casks. Bottled at 47.4%abv. On the nose, grassy young peat, vanilla, hay, some citrus like lemongrass. Sulphuric. Dim chocolate almost imperceptible; Very peaty, young peat and some saltiness. After the first sip i got vanilla cream and quince. On the palate, it is not very good. Vanilla Sulphur, Pepper. Feels very young; Raw very raw. Aftertaste is nice. Hay, perfumed peat, ashes, Pepper. Very aromatic and also "Scorching". My conclusion: this was very dissapointing. The nose and the aftertaste were not that bad, but the palate is very raw and overall it feels like a very one directional whisky, that is not bad, but also not fun. My score for it is a 79 over 100 and considering that i always give high scores to whiskies, you must believe this is an avoidable one. Move along, nothing to see here.

Whiskey extravaganza #7 This is the best Highland Park I’ve had in a while and I’m shocked by it. This is not a typical HP - it’s only matured in bourbon, it’s bottled at 47.2% instead of 43%, and it’s chill filtered but only brought down to 4 degrees Celsius so HP has only stripped away a portion of the delicious oils and esters. Should someone punch their marketing department in the bean bag for calling this “full volume” when they’ve clearly turned down it’s natural volume - yes, that is warranted. And referencing Spinal Tap on your packaging by pointing the dial to 11 when you’ve served the whiskey up at an 8 - not cool ... not cool at all. But it’s still better than most of the duds that HP has been pumping out lately. It’s packed full of rich vanilla bean, pear, and smoked caramel. It reminds me of Tomatin’s Cu Bocan line. And this is 17+ years old for $85; that is a steal by HP standards. If you see it, buy it while you can because I’m guessing it won’t be back. But burn the box - shameful HP marketing, just shameful.