The Highland Park distillery is a leader when it comes to producing top class, full flavored malt whisky and has been doing so since 1798. They don’t do things by half either. The best barley is malted over burning peat from the distillery-owned Hobbister Moor; merged with waters from an exclusive source, the Cattie Maggie spring; and aged in casks for a minimum of twelve years which helps to shape its rare and very distinctive character.

However the bottle that we have here is aged for only eight years as opposed to the distillery’s official 12 year release. But that’s what makes this particular bottling so interesting. This whisky comes to us via Gordon & MacPhail; Scotland’s oldest independent bottler who have been in the whisky business since 1895, so they too should know a thing or two about selecting and maturing good quality malt.

And that’s what they have done here. G&M first selected the casks that would be used for this particular bottling, had the casks shipped to Orkney where they were filled by the distillery before being sent back to G&M’s warehouses in Elgin in Speyside where they would mature until ready.
Hey Presto…eight years later the malt is ready!

And it’s tasty. On the nose there is soft fruit, such as peaches, with that distinctive Highland Park character of heather and a touch of smoke.

The palate is rich, with stewed fruit with a vague saltiness and a hint of smoke on the finish.
I think that this is a really lovely malt; the Highland Park 8 Year Single Malt Scotch is only $39.99 a bottle and won’t hurt your wallet!

John Hansell, Editor of Whisky Advocate, named it “Best Buy Whisky of the Year 2011”

All in all, a great tasting but equally great value malt; the Highland Park 8 Year Single Malt Scotch is only $39.99 a bottle!

Sláinte,
Denis