Highland Park Live Tasting - March 13, 2010

[Holysinner]

I'll chime in with my only HP, a sample set aside from a deceased bottle. Just for fun, I'll link to Serge's notes on the same bottling, which will reveal the inadequacy of my scribblings.

Highland Park 15 single cask for Grape Vine Market
Brand : Highland Park Expression : -
Nose : Gunpowder, molasses, nutmeg, raisins, slight smoke. Quite herbal. Palate : Molasses, raisins, nutmeg, honeyed sweetness. Burnt edge of a Christmas pudding. Finish : Cinnamon, oak. Long, dry. Comment : Mouth coatingly thick body. The sherry dominates but the HP character peeks through. This was clearly a quality cask. Colour : Amber Score : 0
Age : 15 Years Old Vintage : 1990 ABV : 56.3% Bottler : -	Type : Single Malt Region : Island (non Islay) Water : None Ice : None Glass : Tulip Nosing Glass Notes : Cask #10132, bottled 2006, OB exclusive for Grape Vine Market, USA
More tasting notes by None Please do not reproduce or copy this tasting note without permission.

[Ganga]

Yes, I remember having this one around 2 years ago HS. I am closer to Serge's comments - remember a lot of cinnamon, oranges and caramel. As I recall, my perception was more of visiting the NHRA drag races than the gunpowder though. Burnt rubber mixed with the alcohol burn from the top fuel dragsters.

[Ras Mazunga]

Revisiting the HP 20 by Van Wees.
I still don't find any sulpur in this one, it wouldn't matter if I would because I seem to like it.

@Nick, I'm looking forward to your notes of the 4.137 sample. I wonder,...
The G&M bottling is from a first fill sherry hogshead.
Ewald's bottles have handwritten label.

[Ras Mazunga]

HP 16yo 1990 58.7% cask 5831 bottled for Maxxium Netherlands.

Powerful sherried HP. Cooked fruits, tea, smoke and leather at the seashore. Just fantastic. Suddenly my glass is empty and I can't write notes... The finish is great too. Cooked fruits, tea and oysters.


Remarkable: this is cask no 5831 filled in 1990 while the earlier tasted G&M bottling comes from cask 5832 filled in 1997.

[Ryguy]

Nick,

Nice note on the 4.137. That was released here in the US as well, here is the cask information etc.

Cask No. 4.137
Highlands, Orkney
"Oooh! Ouch! Aaah!"
Colour: Deep orange gold
Cask: Refill butt
Age: 12 years
Alcohol: 58.7%
Date distilled: April 1997
Drinking tip:
A bit of a laddish dram - perhaps for winter
walking or as a reward for doing dares

"Oooh!" we said, assessing the nose, big
and meaty, yet clean; peat-bog, moorland
herbs, Night Nurse, peat smoke and lots of toffee
apple sweetness. "Ouch!" we said, after tasting;
explosive, brimstone and coal-dust with
pencil ends and toffee. Water altered the nose
- egg custard, star anise, ripe pineapple, treacle,
liquorice and lums; but it undoubtedly
rescued the palate, which was now big,
sweet, smoky and chewy, "Chewing
scorched heather twigs" said the Whiskyhound;
"dipped in toffee" added the
Whisky-bard. A big-impact, earthy dram that
stands out from the crowd - its genealogy
(south of Kirkwall, north of everything else)
barely discernable.

[Ryguy]

Friendly reminder that next month is Japanese whiskies. Suggestions for May people. We need them. I'll give some oddball suggestions. Tomatin, Tullibardine and Tamnavulin.

How about rye whiskies?

I would like to move the conversation for Rye Whiskies over here to the Other Live Tastings Thread

I think it's a great idea, and since no Other Live Tastings are scheduled at this time, I say we go for it.

[Ras Mazunga]

HP 25 48.1%
n: vanilla, perfume, heather, basilicum, smoke after some time, mint
t: orange malt juice with mint
f: a little minty with vanilla and buttery
c: dissapointing.

[Ras Mazunga]

Revisiting the HP bottling for the importer 58.7% 16yo.
n: cooked fruit, grapes, smoke, old furniture, polish, honey
t: sherried honey with a little lemon
f: drying with smoke and cocoa, very old sherry taste keeps coming back
c: heavily sherried HP, very good imo,

Sample courtesy of Ewald.

[Ras Mazunga]

Back to Nick's First Cask 1975.
It seems to to taste even better than before. More smoke this time which makes it even beter. The finish is really nice. Perfect woodiness.

[Ras Mazunga]

4.134
n: spicy, fruits, too much alcohol: some water. much better now, apples and some pears. This reminds me of Scapa. Maybe they got confused at the SMWS.
t: fruity(melons, pear, apples), salty, spicy
f: more sweet than spicy but also spicy, the sea breeze keeps returning
c: nice, just looked up the age of this whisky and am suprised to see it is 24yo. Good choice of cask: refill ex bourbon hogshead.
Thank you Ewald once again.

[Ras Mazunga]

HP G&M Reserve 1997 56.4% cask 5832
Last drop: malty and salty.
Not a very good dram.