Whisky: Highland Park 9 Year SMWS 4.274 “Rock-solid dramming pleasure”

Country/Region: Scotland/Islands

ABV: 63%

Cask: First Fill Bourbon Barrel

Age: 9 Years (Distilled 27 Jan. 2011)

Nose: Maritime, caramel, and citrus. Memories of sparkling sunlit tide pools with salty mineral-laden water and shrimp shells turned toward malty pastries with salted butterscotch, cookie dough, Speculoos cookie butter, and slightly burnt gingerbread. Peaking out were hints of dried citrus peel and orange oil.

Palate: Medium-bodied with a clean, crisp profile of spice, coal ash, and pastries. Peppery and maritime with hints of charcoal ash, salted caramel, and charred citrus peel. Waiting at the end was the impression of peanut brittle, cream, hot paprika, cinnamon, and black pepper.

Finish: Lingering spice and saltwater taffy.

Score: 6

Mental Image: Seafood Skewers

Notes: This fascinating Highland Park reminded me strongly of Talisker with its peppery bite, spicy undercurrent, and maritime forward profile. Highland Park is often wonderfully maritime, but I have not had many others with the same level of black pepper spice. The unique profile proved popular at a local holiday tasting event and, while this was not really in the running for best of the afternoon, it was not on the bottom of anyone’s ranking either.

This particular Highland Park was a bit unusual for SMWS. At six years of age, it was vatted with several sister casks and then re-racked in various casks to continue maturing. This practice of vatting casks is not altogether unusual; it is an excellent way to smooth out some rough edges and produce a more consistent product (which is perfect for fighting off FOMO). Yet, the practice can seem a bit odd to anyone fixed on the idea of the single cask as something that has remained alone and isolated since the day of distillation.

Overall, I thought this was a wonderfully spicy and maritime Highland Park. Though it was a bit simple at times and a tad hot, it was still a wonderful variation on the typical distillery character and an all-around above-average malt.