Highland Park Wings of the Eagle 16 Year

We have arrived at the end of the TRE releases, Bear, Wolf, and now Eagle. The marketing drivel here says that HP seek to celebrate the wild windswept Orkney Islands with the ‘Wings of the Eagle’ release; “Our waters are stormy, our winters are long and few trees can survive here… but that just makes for a more harmonious whisky”. N: A refreshing and summery nose that smacks of orange off the bat. Then, beyond this orange forward juiciness is shortbread biscuit (I guess thats buttery and vanilla malt) and then a pine needle/Christmas tree vibe is unexpectedly brilliant. Smoke comes through from this pine, its soft, light and very floral/herbaceous - HP doing what it does best. The longer this sits the more depth there is, a leathery richness and wood spice (allspice?) compliments the nose just nicely. P: A creamy and full body but with plenty of warming and enveloping smokiness. The smoke builds but remains just slightly floral and delicate enough to be really interesting. The smoke also carries with it just the slightest briny minerality. The rest of the palate has honey and malt, bbq charred peach, and a touch of orange vibrancy. Spices mix together and I think I find pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and maybe some ginger too. Bourbon barrel influence is present as a butterscotch-toffee. F: Long. Creamy and a little nutty (pecan?) with a leathery to (salted)-chocolate exit that vies for attention with some wood spice. Being objective, I have a clear winner for complexity, flavour profile, depth of character and all all-round show stopper from these TREs: Wings of the Eagle. Interestingly the 14 year old Wolf was a comparative disaster and the Bear was really enjoyable for a simple entry. I find this Eagle a unneccessary addition to HPs already stacked range. As far as I am concerned this comes across like a less sherried and more bourbon influenced version of the 15 year old viking heart; replace some fruity/winey sweetness with more notable toffees and leather and I think thats about the differences covered. I think I may enjoy the 15 slightly more, there we some interesting bitter marmalade and cocoa notes that make the difference. But heres the rub, the 15 is AUD $185/700ml; the Eagle, AUD $175/1000 ml. Maybe some of the extra cost of the 15 is the sherry cask and ceramic bottle? Maybe the 15 is better stock? I’m not sure, but this Eagle probably does fly somewhere between the 12 and 15 in my books. Should you use your duty free allowance to buy it; no, just pick up the 12 and a Woodford Double Oaked, you’ll be taken care of across two drams for similar cost. [Pictured here with this drams viking themed rock a 1.6 to 0.93 billion year old rhodolite-quartz-biotite schist from near Akland in southern Norway. This beautiful rock is from a 30 km wide section of very high grade metamorphic rocks that represent very high temperatures associated with a major episode of mountain building at the time]. Price is for 1000 ml bottle Distiller whisky taste #140 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 Voyage of the Raven: 3.5 Spirit of the Bear: 3.25 Loyalty of the Wolf: 2.75 Wings of the Eagle: 4

Rating: 17/23 N: Uh, oh. I'm getting a bit of meaty alcohol. Moving past that, I pick up some sweet spices and wood that make me think of a scotch aged in a fresh bourbon barrel. Vanilla. Some dry grass and smoke eventually come through, but this is not a super complex nose and that meatiness even makes it a bit off-putting. P: Much spicier than Highland Park 12! What initially hits me strikes me as an extra bourbon barrel finishing. Wait. this is called "Wings of the Eagle"...is that actually a reference to the USA and some extra bourbon barrel finishing? Well, if it is or isn't, it certainly tastes like that. I get cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove. Vanilla. It's rich and full. There's a really interesting balance here between regular Highland Park complexity and new scotch distillery finishing young with a fresh barrel (I'm looking at you, Glenglassaugh). Beyond the spices, there is definitely some rich and bitter smoke with enough of an herbal reference to suggest peat. I also get some of that usual Highland Park apricot sweetness, though not nearly as much as in the mainline releases. I really have to dig for the maritime flavor. This is smooth and the alcohol doesn't show through. The fresh cask finish probably is covering up some maturity though. Despite the spices, this release is way smoother than Highland Park 12. It's almost silky. Crucially, that sulphur from the Highland Park 12 is not present here! F: Sweet, rich, full. That bourbon barrel character is the main thing I'm getting, the usual Highland Park smoke and maritime hints do make it through a bit. - Conclusion - I'm not sure whether I like the general premise of this flavor profile better than the basic Highland Park 12 profile, but the lack of that sulphur punch makes this a lot better. This tastes more mature and balanced than The Shin 10 (15), but less complex. I'm inclined to give this the win because the complexity is fine here and it does a very good job with its core flavors. In terms of balance and complexity, this compares favorably with Nikka From The Barrel. This is a little rougher, but more complex and interesting. Does this beat Johnnie Walker Green (17)? Probably not. Eh, they're pretty competitive. The Johnnie Walker is smoother with more of a mellowed, subtle complexity. This has more opinions, spice, and burn. It's a tough call. I'll consider a 16 or 17 for this with the slight possibility that I underrated it in comparison to the Johnnie Walker and it's actually an 18. I think I'm going with the 17 because I found this to be very competitive with both Nikka From The Barrel and Johnnie Walker Green. That said, Johnnie Walker Green is a great value. This costs about twice as much, so it's hard to recommend this considering the price gap unless you're looking to fill a gap in your library that needs a reasonably mature scotch with a fresh bourbon barrel finish.

I had a bottle of the 18y Viking Pride and wanted to see if it is really necessary to buy that when you can save 30 Euros when going for this only 2 years younger version. It is not a viking theme expression this time but instead part of the animal-themed line. Also as far as I know this is one of the higher ABV Highland Park bottlings with its weird 44,5% ABV. Even the 18y only has 43%. Nose: delicious, fruity, red apples and grapes, mild peat that is not very intense at all but still characteristic. Milk- and white chocolate, a bid briny as well, ripe pineapple, vanilla cookies, a bid of banana and nice red currant on top of everything. Palate: very delicious and now very signature Highland Park, salty and not sweet in the same way as its bigger brother, some sour dried orchard fruits, marzipan Finish: very nice as well, quite dry, very oaky, intense dry spices with some smoke, prunes but again not sweet but more acidic and a little hot. Later ground coffee. The palate afterward gets richer and surprisingly oily sweet (the 18y didn’t have that from what I remember) while the finish becomes even more deep yet still opposing drier. So in conclusion: the regular 18y is a tad better and probably worth the extra money if you like HP in general. I don’t want to put my finger on it but I wanna assume they used 2nd or 3rd fill sherry casks instead - maybe even the ones they used for the 18y before. Who knows. Or they gave it a lot less time in the finishing casks or used bigger ones. So if you just want the occasional HP experience this one fulfills that purpose for sure. If you are a fan though you will miss some intensity that the 18y delivers better. I still like it. I will give the 12y another go soon and then decide for myself which will be the permanent HP shelf bottle. (I’m still very much interested in the Triskelion and The Dark but they are another league price-wise. But I am curious how those compare.)

Nose: Sweet orange, vanilla, sherry, apricot and a subtle hint of smoke in the background. There are touches of cinnamon, nutmeg and honeysuckle and as it rests and gains body, soft wood and leather notes arise. A lovely Highland Park nose with a fleeting smoke presence and a simple but refined character. Palate: Sweet and gentle arrival centred on honey-drizzled slices of grilled orange, apricot and peach. It gains excellent spice tones as it develops with sweeter and heavier flavours emerging - caramel, grape jelly, red berry jam and mild ginger chunks in syrup. The texture is buttery, slightly oily and very satisfying. Finish: Medium/long. Warm and gradually transitioning to a drier character with delicate oak, smoke and salt notes. There is a subtle chocolate aftertaste that lingers. A mild-mannered dram, very pleasant to drink but lacking a little in complexity when compared to the 15 year old from a few years back (in the pre-Viking livery bottles). The sherry presence is muted here while the bourbon cask influence is particularly apparent. This has good body and texture, and its maturity shows through in the well integrated profile. It has a completeness and good balance, but I can’t escape the feeling that overall it presents more like a 12 year old whisky than a 16 year old. This is the 2nd of 6 Highland Parks I’m tasting today, and in comparison to the “Spirit of the Bear” I tasted first this has more depth and authority, but is otherwise surprisingly similar. It’s certainly a better whisky, but is it worth paying 50% more? Let’s just say I immediately bought a bottle of Spirit of the Bear, but as good as it is I’m probably not ordering this one. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

A new expression from this amazing distillery, this time a 16 yo whisky that sells itself as "Gentle". I don't know if i want any "gentleness" on a Highland Park which is one of my favorite peated whiskies. This one has been matured in European sherry seasoned oak casks and american white oak casks. Bottled at 44.5%abv, not as dark colored as you would expect from a 16yo. On the nose i liked it a lot. Very complex here. Orange, Very perfumed, Heather peat, perfumed moss, lemon pie, very gentle and light. Lemon cream meringue, Tangerine, Impalpable sugar, Earthy peat and Milk powder. Lots of things happening here. On the palate it just doesn't deliver the promise you got on the nose, without been a bad whisky. Brown sugar, Molasses; Very light and gentle; Pepper spice. Very fruity like bitting some fresh mango or a tropical fruit that has gone a little old. Aftertaste brings the experience up again, with Ashes, earthy peat, Bitter oranges. Long finish with a slight saltiness on it. Overall this seems a little unbalanced, but manages to be a good whisky. It could be better, and for $106 you can certainly have a better option. 85 over 100.

Nose: Yup, this is Highland Park alright. Their signature Heather-honey sweetness with orange fruits at the back that I've come to expect from their 12 year standard is found lingering with barrel spice notes that I can only compare with Glengoyne's bourbon barrel influence. Translation: Highland Park's rich mid tones are given an extra high tone sparkle with this inclusion, which I can only guess is from their 'sherry-seasoned' oak casks. The medley isn't disjointed either, as they perfectly come together to make this an intriguing HP dram Palate: More of the same from the nose. Heather sweetness develops into an elegant barrel spice that reminds me again of Glengoyne's lemon pastry effect. A gentle smoke comes through, but only barely. Finish: A mouth puckering, drying sensation with notes of cocoa - as if I had swallowed cocoa powder beforehand. Lovely. As far as travel retail exclusives go, I really like this one. A bit hefty of the price tag (USD 105 from Dubai International Airport) but if you're into Highland Park and into collecting, go for this one.