And it was priced very high in the glass for what I got. This sample of the Highland Park 18 smelled and tasted pretty much as I suspected it would. The bottle was opened for my order and the whisky in my glass, despite its cavernous dimensions, had not yet breathed enough to open up and offer its best impressions. My initial impression of the 18 in the bar was worse than here at home. I had been curious how the 18 tasted these days. This whisky sample was poured in a bar a week and a half ago from a glass that I didn't want to drink on premises (a fairly stingy shot poured into a giant tumbler in a loud bar that ended up not suiting my mood). I had a little bottle of 18 left in my cabinet, and so I brought it out to taste as a way to usher in my birthday today. I don't buy bottles of 12 any longer, nor the 18. In my town, a bottle of the 15 is $90 American, which seems a bit steep for what you get, however. The 15 has remained consistent and I find that in many ways I like it better than its older and younger siblings today as a result, whereas I used to favor the 18 as a great deal for the money. On the finish, I get some coffee, dark chocolate and a little oak, along with something like sea mist and the haunting ghost of something like peat.Įven though the above review sounds pleasant enough, I feel as though Highland Park's 12 and 18 have slipped a few notches over the last half decade. Over some fruit, the smoke rises to the tip of the tongue and there is a hint of peat but not much. In the mouth, this whisky reveals more sweetness that borders on cloying. Scent: Bit-o-honey, light smoke, caramel, dried cut grass, Asian pear, cumin, buttered toast. We expect more from a premium whisky nowadays. It's just too underpowered and the world's moved on. If this whisky was made by Ardbeg it would be bottled at 50%+ NCF and it would be phenomenal. They all bottle their whiskies at 46%+, Non chill filtered, natural colour. They have seen their popularity sky rocket in the last 10 years. Your serious scotch drinker has the likes of Ardbeg, Springbank, Glendronach, Arran et al. Some bitter marmalade, grassy notes, dried fruits (but not sherried), a slight hint of ginger biscuits, a solvent note.Īnother reason why I don't rate this whisky as highly as I used to: I think the whisky world has moved on. This whisky is all about the development. Quite sweet on the nose but less so on the palate. Heather, boiled sweets, plums, white wine vinegar, marzipan, straw I suspect maybe its a little from column A and a little from Column B.Īlso a little from Column C, I'll talk about Column C in a bit. I honestly am not sure if this is because it isn't as good or because 10 years of drinking whisky has seen my palate change and develop. Today it doesn't seem as good as it did back then. When I first started getting seriously into whisky about 10 years ago this was one of the 'must have' malts.
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