After the Dark comes Light, and just in time for summer / spring, comes ‘The Light’ the 2nd installment in the latest HP Range, following the ‘Dark’. As the name suggests this is a fresher and more light-ish HP, and the light green-ish bottle hints at that as well. The whisky is aged for 17 years, in American Oak casks, and this whisky is bottled at a nice 52,9% abv with a hefty price tag of around £180, not cheap at all. Let’s have a try shall we?
Highland Park 17 yo ‘The Light’, 52,9%, , 28.000 btl, £189
Nose: Quite fresh I must admit, and very fitting for springtime , with a nice fruity touch , with a melange of ripe peaches, pears and red apples, on top of some a nice woody backbone, vanilla and more over-ripe orange/tangerine kind of note, ending on lemon zest, sandalwood , with a floral touches. It’s really like taking a stroll in an orchard on a spring day. very nice indeed, but not very HP like, with no smoke whatsoever.
Palate: The palate is a bit more intense, peppery up front with a very nice mouthfeel, and then the fruit starts to kick in, which is beautiful : quite tropical at first with mango, passion fruit up front, then some more vanilla, hints of smoke, and finally the wood makes an entry. late , but is certainly there. More peach, and pear, make up for an excellent and quite complex palate.
Finish: longish, with apple peel, pepper, vanilla and wood, the exotic fruit is gone.
This is an excellent whisky, although it’s not very Highland Park-ish. very light and fruity at times, packing a punch as well, but the HP smoky side is very much toned down. Given this one blind, i would have a very hard time guessing what this is, for good and for bad.
A really good one in my opinion, but not your classic HP. At any rate, a tad expensive at almost 200 quid a pop. Mainly for die hard HP collectors, and fans. the bottle looks amazing as always. Good work there guys. For us mere mortals with a limited budget, there are other cheaper and more ‘classic’ styled HPs out there.
Happy Spring / Summer.