Whisky: Highland Park 17 Year (2001), Gordon & MacPhail

Country/Region: Scotland/Island

ABV: 56.5%

Cask: First Fill Bourbon Barrel

Age: 17 Year (Distilled 16 Oct. 2001, Bottled 10 Sept. 2019)

Nose: Citrus, sea, and biscuits. Salt-laden ocean air on a warm day blew in with the subtle sweetness of lemon and lime zest, pressed calamansi, and hints of tangerine. Herbal heather rested in the background with marzipan, slivered almonds, and buttercream.

Palate: Medium-bodied with citrus, tobacco, and sea. After an initial pop of sweet citrus, the profile shifted to sun-dried tobacco, heather, and nuts. Sweet and salty notes contrasted with the citrus as marzipan, cashews, and raw almonds came out near the end. The final impression was of bitter orange and dark chocolate bars flecked with sea salt.

Finish:  Lingering hints of bitter chocolate and cigar box.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Humidor Chocolates

Notes: A unique Highland Park whose bitter backbone overshadowed the subtle fruit and smoke. If it were not for the bitter turn on the palate, which carried through on the finish, I would have scored this dram a few notches higher. I have slowly been gone through a number of different samples from the distillery— somehow, I collected quite a few— and, though this did not quite work for me, it was a welcome variation on the typical Highland Park profile.

Sprinkled with citrus notes on the nose, the only real sweetness on the palate was an initial pop of lemon. Citrus appeared at the end, but its bitter quality reminded me of the local Hawaiʻi oranges whose rind I find bitter and acerbic.

There was a fascinating and unexpected connection between the tobacco notes and chestnuts or ground almonds. The herbal tobacco, which only peeked in on the nose, ran rampant through the palate. I prefer my tobacco notes a bit richer, like pipe tobacco or smoke, rather than the herbal ones that appeared on this dram. Bizarrely, the way that note combined with some of the lingering bitterness reminded me a little of artichoke.

Overall, a fascinating Highland Park and a welcome change of pace from the others I have tried recently, but, honestly, not something I can ever see myself pulling off the shelf to pour.

Image Credit: Whiskybase