The Vikings are coming again: Highland Park Loki

So, Highland park Loki. Been waiting quite a long time to get to taste this one. Quite a lot has been said about this edition on social media  , mostly regarding its “box” or that Viking long ship, and mostly also about its price. I really do not like those extravagant packagings with the wooden Viking boats, and would rather it was packaged in a cardboard or other cheap packaging, while keeping it’s price more affordable. But as for sheer quality, I know HP are not the ones to release such bottling if they are not crackers. Viking ship of no Viking ship, this successor to the Thor is a very interesting dram, aged 15 years and bottled at a nice ABV of 47.8, being the 2nd member of the Valhalla series, it’s got a lot of potential. I bet It sold out quite fast in most shops after Serge had given it a 90+ score on Whisky Fun. oh well..Let’s see how it fares in the tasting section, shall we?

Highland Park Loki – 15 Year Old – The Valhalla Collection, 48.70%, £119

nose: Hmmm. quite interesting thing are going on here : some apples, waxy notes, with some wood, and quite floral as well. zesty lemon , oats, yet no smoke or peat that I can pick up.

Palate: Big palate, no doubt, starts buttery with Red apples sautéed in butter, then a rather interesting note of exotic fruit (papaya, guava, and a bit of red grapefruit) with a pinch of salt sprinkled over, then some smoke hits the palate with quite a bit of wood on the finish.

Finish : Wood, cooked apples , wood spices galore (cinnamon, and cloves).

Bottom line:

Fancy boat or no boat, this little HP is an excellent whisky, Rather different from the Thor, and a bit better IMHO. Complex enough, and highly enjoyable. Too bad it’s just to expensive for a 15 year old whisky, but today when NAS bottling (Alpha for example) are starting to show up with silly prices of 100 quid, this one doesn’t seem SO expensive… sad times indeed.

Score: 89/100

official sample provided by Highland Park