This twenty-year old Highland Park was bottled by Cadenhead’s as part of their Warehouse Tasting experience in Campbeltown.  A friend passed through the area in 2024 and this was part of the lineup he got to taste and purchase. Nothing like this was available when we went a few months later, so he got a real treat! I do not count Highland Park among my favorite island distilleries, but its typical flavor profile some blend of coal dust, maritime, and heather sets a high floor.

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Whisky: Highland Park 20 Year (2004), Cadenhead’s Warehouse Tasting

Country/Region: Scotland/Islands

ABV: 61.5%

Cask: Bourbon Barrel

Age: 20 Years (Distilled 2004, Bottled 2024)

Notes: Heather capped dunes and salty sea spray; there was something melancholy and mineral about the aroma.  More candied fruits popped in to start the party with banana runtz and orange cream before a cloud of tobacco smoke, dried grass, and driftwood pushed them out— it was a bit of a tug-o-war with cotton candy and sisal rope taking sides. Medium-bodied, oily, and spirited on the palate, the flavor profile was sweet, grassy, and acrid with a mellow maritime brine following citrusy curd, meringue, dried grass, and heather— though sometimes it felt all aflame and burning. A touch of coconut husk and coconut oil appeared with orange occasionally giving this a slightly soapy note to me— the fault of the coconut and the prevalence of coconut soaps in my part of the globe. A touch of sourness and pepper popped at the end as the sugar retreated; rather medicinal in character with herbal tinctures and citrus rind. The finish was medium to long, peppery and medicinal, with a splash of brine.

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Score: 6 (78)

Mental Image: Candies in the Sauna

Conclusion: This initially felt right up my alley with its melancholy coast aroma and clear evolution on the palate. Yet, the longer I sat with it, the less I enjoyed it After a while the aroma felt more like a clash of two heads struggling to assert control of a single body. Some of the fruitiness of the palate took on a slightly soapy quality to me, especially as a bit of woody coconut husk and oil began to appear. The spirit was well-integrated, though it was still peppery with a lovely warming quality on the finish— perhaps a dram best enjoyed in the winter Overall, old-fashioned at times and a bit unusual.