Highland Park 17 Year (1999), Abbey Whisky “Anon Batch 2”
Whisky: Highland Park 17 Year (1999), Abbey Whisky “Anon Batch 2”
Country/Region: Scotland/Orkney
ABV: 53.8%
Cask: Refill Sherry Butt
Age: 17 Years (Distilled 1999, Bottled 2017)
Nose: Coastal and maritime, salt, mineral, orange citrus, mild charcoal smoke; hints of tobacco, leather, and dried kelp.
Palate: Medium-bodied, maritime and citrusy, orange, a hint of coconut, leather, driftwood, charcoal, musty tobacco, peppery.
Finish: Medium-length, peppery and a touch spirited with citrus, minerals, and a kiss of smoke.
Score: 7
Mental Image: Maritime Meandering
Narrative & Notes: The aroma was pleasantly coastal, with a maritime brine washing up on a mineral-rich beach with scattered bits of driftwood and tar. Orange and tangerine provided a citrusy backbone with hints of herbal thyme and mint. A mild charcoal smoke and ash blew in with hints of tobacco, leather, moss, and dried kelp as the aroma continued moving down the shoreline. Medium-bodied, the flavor profile popped with salt and citrus as if I liked the salted rim of a tropical, citrusy margarita with orange, tangerine, and hints of coconut. Leather, driftwood, and charcoal lingered further in the background with a musty tobacco and slightly acrid smoke. Medium-length, the finish was peppery and a touch spirited with citrus, mineral, and a kiss of smoke.
I have a fairly mixed relationship with Highland Park; there have been some highs but lots of middling scores and a few absolute lows. I mention this because I had few expectations when I finally got around to trying this dram; I figured it might be a pretty typical Orkney malt and quickly forgotten. I was wrong, clearly. Maybe low expectations are not always bad, though; the less one expects from a whisky, the easier it is to be impressed.
The flavors were pretty typical for the distillery— I have described numerous Highland Park as being some combination of tropical margarita and fruity sangria with a maritime aesthetic. Peatier malts can lean more toward coal and an acrid industrial quality, however, this had only a whiff of those elements as the refill sherry maturation elevated the fruitier elements with a hint of leather. I particularly enjoyed the very clean and subtly tropical elements.
Overall, an Orkney delight, this is the kind of Highland Park I really enjoy. For anyone wondering how you can know for sure it is a Highland Park, consider checking out the handy coordinates on the bottle!
