Continuing with Highland park whiskies, this time an Indie bottling, by G&M in their Connoisseurs Choice series. This is quite an Atypical HP, having been aged in a first-fill ex-Bourbon cask for 18 years, Cask was laid down in 1999 and whisky was bottled in February 2018. It’s always nice to taste 100 % ex-bourbon maturation whisky from HP, especially as the brand is associated with sherry casks, as most of the OB are partly or fully aged in European Oak sherry casks…
Highland Park 18 Year Old 1999 – Connoisseurs Choice (Gordon & MacPhail) , 55.6%,£123
Nose: Nice fruity sort of Ex-bourbon feeling to it, with Banana Peel (not quite ripe), vanilla, some citrus as well (mostly orange), some sweet honeyed notes, but not very sweet indeed , some pears and a hint of flower petals, that gives way to some earthy peaty notes, quite toned down.
Palate: Big entry with the peat and pepper up front, quite a nice earthy feeling, and a lot of wood influence, big Oaky notes on this one, I did not expect from the delicate nose. Vanilla and peat with a touch of the fruity notes too, yet the peat and toasted wood are dominant, overpowering the banana.
Finish: Coconut, cinnamon and more wood, with an earthy touch.
Conclusion:
Very nice indeed, and quite powerful on the palate while being delicate on the nose, A nice surprise. If given to me blind, I’m quite sure I would not guess this one came from the well-known Orcadian distillery, but when you think of it, It does display some HP characteristics, but masked nicely by the ex-Bourbon cask. Probably sold out long ago, but if you can find it somewhere…
Score: 88/100
Thank you Ori for sharing a dram.