Highland Park 40 Year Old

[lincoln imp]

believe me the 30 is superior to the any of the 25 yr, even the 50.7%,

Not in my opinion. I tasted the 30 at its launch at WL. It was good but compared to the rest of the range it got a strangely muted response from most who attended the masterclass. Perhaps we were expecting something extraordinary and got something ordinary. A bit if a let down. I've tasted it since then and it just doesn't hit the mark that the 25 does. Its been in the cask too long. 18 - 25 is probably when HP is at its best. Some whiskies age longer some don't but for that reason I won't buy a bottle of 30 and with that in mind, I certainly won't buy a bottle of 40. Will I taste it? Of course - if I get a chance! But it will need to be very very good to beat the 25 50.7.

This just goes to show how whisky drinkers palates differ. When i first tried the 30 i thought it was excellent, when i first tried the 50.7 25 yr i thought it was nothing special and it reminded me of Royal Lochnagar Selected Reserve only not as sweet?
I certainly do not think it has been in the cask too long. I think the 18yr is a better bottling than the 25yr, though i have yet to try the 25, 48.1.
I wish i liked the 25 better as it would be much cheaper for me as the 30 .

[Sherried Malt]

I think the 50.7% 25 and 30 are two very distinctive expressions and offer fans of HP two great alternatives. They're quite different from each other, but I don't know that I can call one better than the other. (I don't think the casks used for the 50.7% would have evolved into the 30 with more time...)

I think the 18yr is a better bottling than the 25yr, though i have yet to try the 25, 48.1.

I wish i liked the 25 better as it would be much cheaper for me as the 30 .

LI, you really should try the 48.1 25. During the HP online tasting, I thought it was remarkably similar to the 30. Maybe you'll find that it's close enough...

[lincoln imp]

LI, you really should try the 48.1 25. During the HP online tasting, I thought it was remarkably similar to the 30. Maybe you'll find that it's close enough...[/quote]
If i dont sell it then i will. If its that close then its a much cheaper alternative for me.
Cheers
LI

[enzot]

The original 40 Y.O was a limited bottling of 665 bottles from 2 casks.1958 bottled in 1998 with a glass decanter and a signed booklet in a wooden case.

It was also well received by most who tasted it....given 95/100 by Serge at Whisky fun.

One for the collector...and drinker.

Cheers
Enzo...

[Deactivated Member]

(I don't think the casks used for the 50.7% would have evolved into the 30 with more time...)

No, of course not. It is a very common and often unconscious, but entirely mistaken, assumption that Glen Googly 20yo is Glen Googly 10yo ten years older. It underlies such comments as "The 18 has benefited greatly from six more years in the barrel, compared to the 12." Each expression is of course vatted on its own merits. At the top of this thread, we were told that the casks used for the 40yo were refill casks, and thus inherently slow-maturing. I'd expect that, had they been sampled at 25 and 30 years, they'd have tasted nothing like the 25 and 30yo bottlings. In fact, my first cynical thought was that these casks had been lying around for forty years, not because they'd been deemed special enough to do so, but because they simply weren't worth botting yet. Remainders! I'm quite sure that HP would take issue with that idea, but I'll bet there's a kernel of truth in it.

[dtasker]

This complete discussion is totally academic.
1, I live in Tasmania (Australia) so I don't neet a return ticket to OZ.
2, When I win the HP 40 year Old bottle I will sell it to anyone that offers 799 pounds - I will include a 1/2 bottle of Tasmanian Single Malt - I will then have enough to buy a return ticket to The UK - Scotland - Ireland
3, Once there I will go stupid and visit as many distillaries as I can
4, On my return to OZ I will buy duty free "Something" that I can enjoy without going "ouch" at every sip.

Gosh - 900 Quid would keep me imensly happy with "something" of a lesser barnd for a very long time

So help me out here is the corect answer 48.3% proof ?

[les taylor]

This complete discussion is totally academic.
1, I live in Tasmania (Australia) so I don't neet a return ticket to OZ.
2, When I win the HP 40 year Old bottle I will sell it to anyone that offers 799 pounds - I will include a 1/2 bottle of Tasmanian Single Malt - I will then have enough to buy a return ticket to The UK - Scotland - Ireland
3, Once there I will go stupid and visit as many distillaries as I can
4, On my return to OZ I will buy duty free "Something" that I can enjoy without going "ouch" at every sip.

Gosh - 900 Quid would keep me imensly happy with "something" of a lesser barnd for a very long time

So help me out here is the corect answer 48.3% proof ?

Welcome to the forums. And I'm sorry your answer is wrong.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

.............On my return to OZ I will buy duty free "Something" that I can enjoy without going "ouch" at every sip.

Please do not think I'm having a go at you here as many people think this way.

However this is what I don't under stand about such mentality .... if you win the bottle it has cost you nothing so how can you go ouch every time you drink it

It is the same with people that buy say a £50 bottle, sit on it for a while and then find out it is worth £3-500 and then say 'I can't affoard to drink it'

This is a very unique opportunity to taste a whisky out of most of our reach and that's the way I'd look at ..... but in your defense yes I do also see the opportunity to convert it into something much more. Just don't say you can't afford to drink it as if you win it has cost you nothing

Good luck but I hope I win

[Mr Fjeld]

[quote="irishwhiskeychaser....This is a very unique opportunity to taste a whisky out of most of our reach and that's the way I'd look at ..... but in your defense yes I do also see the opportunity to convert it into something much more. Just don't say you can't afford to drink it as if you win it has cost you nothing
[/quote]
Very well said IWC! I have a very modest collection purely intended for drinking. I suppose only a couple of the bottles I have will increase (possibly) in value - but if they do become increasingly expensive I'll enjoy it even more knowing I couldn't afford it otherwise.

[lincoln imp]

[quote="irishwhiskeychaser....This is a very unique opportunity to taste a whisky out of most of our reach and that's the way I'd look at ..... but in your defense yes I do also see the opportunity to convert it into something much more. Just don't say you can't afford to drink it as if you win it has cost you nothing

Very well said IWC! I have a very modest collection purely intended for drinking. I suppose only a couple of the bottles I have will increase (possibly) in value - but if they do become increasingly expensive I'll enjoy it even more knowing I couldn't afford it otherwise.[/quote]
Mr Fjeld, after selling many of my decent bottles recently i am now in the position that i have decided to drink whats left of my collection and to hell with the price they cost me. I may collect a few in the future but i have come to the conclusion that if i am not going to drink them then whats the point of having them. I suppose its a question many members have asked themselves over the years, mind the last time i drank a £150 bottle in 4 days i almost cried but when you get the calling its hard to resist

[Mr Fjeld]

Mr Fjeld, after selling many of my decent bottles recently i am now in the position that i have decided to drink whats left of my collection and to hell with the price they cost me. I may collect a few in the future but i have come to the conclusion that if i am not going to drink them then whats the point of having them. I suppose its a question many members have asked themselves over the years, mind the last time i drank a £150 bottle in 4 days i almost cried but when you get the calling its hard to resist

imp, I get the same feeling when opening something expensive...but it's so good that I usually forget about it pretty soon

[LagaDrinker]

The more the whisky costs the harder I find it to drink. I think its the knowing of what else you could have done with the money that the bottle cost. I try not to worry about it anymore though as I think if I shouldn't be drinking it because of the loss of potential money (by selling) then I probably shouldn't have bought it in the first place.

I intend to drink all of the bottles I buy at some time or another.

[orangedogofglory]

the more a whisky costs the more excited I am to drink it, but, the more guilty I feel if I just open it by myself. expensive whisky should be shared, and the act should be reciprocated!