Bought: Amazon, 18th December 2014
Ratings:
90.5/100 – Whisky Bible 2015
86.8/100 – Whiskybase (average from 7 member votes)
This is my second bottle of whisky by the independent bottler ‘That Boutique-y Whisky Company’ but also my 13th different version of Highland Park. That might sound a lot but not to a collector I found on YouTube. Their addiction to my beloved Orkney distillery makes mine look like a small, malty puddle beside a giant loch of whiskyness. I’ve included the video below.
Scoring 86.8/100 on Whiskybase is an excellent mark and beats both Batch 1 and Batch 3 of the Highland Park by That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Comments include “unlike any other Highland Park I have tried but quite pleasant” and “this fruity Highland Park really has aged wonderfully. A delight!”
The review in the Whisky Bible says of the taste “the oak really does come charging at you” and “an estery mouth feel saves the day, helped along by some building spices.” The finish is described as a “lovely spice glow” with “late arriving malt” and the oak staying until the end. Overall the author, Jim Murray summarises with “top heavy with oak and missing its trademark honey accompaniment. Lovely, though!” 90.5/100 ranks this single malt as “brilliant” according to the Bible’s scoring rating system. Sounds like a decent dram!
PS – for those like me who are unsure what “estery” means, I looked it up and its definition is “aroma or flavour or fruit or flowers in beer. This can be caused by certain yeast strains or higher temperature fermentation.” Who said my blog wasn’t educational?! 🙂
Whisky Den 