Tasting note

At the core of the Highland Park range is the expression that started it all; the twelve year old pours a glowing amber colour, shows beautiful aromas of sweet honey and a light peat note; full and rounded on the palate with more sweet citrus and full malt flavours; the finish shows notes of heather and subtle smoke.

Highland Park 12 Year Old is made from the best barley malted over peat fires, merged with the unique spring waters of the island, and aged in casks for a minimum of twelve years; shaping its rare and very distinctive character.

This amber spirit has a light, briny vanilla scent and a silky feel. A veil of smoke rises through the Scotch (but fades out fast), leaving behind a sweet nutty, vanilla finish.

First you get the silky coating. Just as you purr from that and you settle into the malty attack, from nowhere a subtle honey edge descents. An unusual, brief sharpness retreats, allowing room for the most delicate of smoke; only half-serious vanilla and lazy citrus continue to give the feel of a younger than normal malt and no heather, with the lightest sprinkling of peat. Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2011, 91 pts