Whisky : Highland Park 15 Year SMWS 4.256 “A dark palette palate”

Country/Region : Scotland/Islands

ABV : 56%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon (13Y), First Fill PX (2Y)

Age : 15 Years (Distilled 17 Jan. 2005)

Nose : Quiet and restrained with fruit, spice, and salt.  Fruity-nutty amaretto liqueur, Red Vines, and honey roasted peanuts.  Hints of salt cured meats, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and varnished wood.

Palate : Medium to light body with a subtle open of sweet cinnamon, plums, and poached pears that built in volume toward herbaceous tobacco and burnt brown sugar at the end.  In between were notes of ginger, bitter chocolate, and salted caramel.  

Finish : Lingering tobacco ash, dark chocolate, and maritime salt.

Score : 4

Mental Image : Fishing Boat Ashtray

Notes : A swing and a miss, this was almost universally voted as worst in the evening during a recent local virtual tasting.  I thought a second taste a few days later might have improved things, sometimes bottles just air out, or differences in one’s palate result in a totally different impression.  I wanted to enjoy this more— there was something vaguely nostalgic about the herbal-tobaccco profile.  Yet, when I really thought about it, it reminded me of a small diner non-smoking section— the kind that just existed in the same room as the smoking section.  The sort of diner just absolutely permeated by the smell of smoke that hung in the air and settled into the carpet and the faux-leather booths.  Those were fun times, though I do not miss the way the tobacco scent permeated my clothes after just a half hour dinner.

Overall, I can see the appeal for people who enjoy the contrast between sweet fruits and slightly bitter notes of tobacco and dark chocolate.  There was a nice saltiness and spice that hung in the background of the nose and flavor profile, even if the whole experience was not to my taste.