TWE A Fine Christmas Malt 16 yr

This was my contribution to last week’s extended family gathering over Thanksgiving. TWE releases an annual Christmas malt, and last year’s (2021) was this 16 yr old from Orkney. Which of course means Highland Park. Total of 5 casks—-3 hogsheads and 2 sherry. Nose is slight smoke, but surprisingly fruity—-pineapples, grilled lemons, and a hint of tobacco. Taste is slightly more peat, but really held back…the focus is on Christmas spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, oranges and red berries. Wow…very Un-Highland Park profile. Some chocolate and maple syrup. This is an absolute stunner of a whisky, with an amazing price to match. I think I got it for about $100-120. The best HP I’ve had after the old bottling of the 18. It’s amazing how good HP can be…if they only can get out of that Viking marketing infatuation.