Highland Park 30yr compared to 18yr?

[lincoln imp]

I am currently finishing off a HP 18yr and took the plunge to buy a 2007 bottle of the 30yr. I would be interested to hear what other forum members think as to whether it is worth 3+ times the price compared to the excellent 18yr.
Has anyone got any tasting notes.
Comments appreciated.

[SoMK]

I do not have very advanced tasting notes but thanks to Sherried Malt, I recently got a niiiiice sample of HP30 OB *and bicentenary !*.
I have bottles of 12, 18 and 25 OB as well.
Quality price ratio I'd go for 18 anytime. That's a beautfiful warm honey chocolate SM.. I think 25 is very interesting in a more floral way, turkish delight, rose and nougat..
But the 30 OB ! Oh my ! It's way more on the 18 side, that's a 18 supersized ! Oak and honey and chocolate and what a strength (only 48.1 though) !
It's (once again, for my purse) a tad over the top especially here in Canada but for a one shot, it's probably one whisky I'd go the extra mile for.

[Ganga]

I would think that it would depend upon your purpose for the whisky. If you are looking for something special to drink over 6 mos to a year take the 30 yo. If you are looking for more of an everyday dram, i'd suggest the 18.

[mikeymad]

I agree with ganga. If you are going to power through it, maybe pick something else up. But man it is a great beverage. And the brand new HP 25 is some kind of special as well. For the price I might just consider just getting the new 25.

Cheers,

[Sherried Malt]

Ganga and SoMK are right about the OB 30. It really is special...my favorite dram, hands down. However, you really can't go wrong with the 18 as your daily drinker.

Now whether it's worth 3x of the 18 is another question. I'd want both. Once I have a 30, my next choice would be to get three 18's and then reload on the 30 once it was gone...

One thing tho. Where can you find the 30 at 3x the 18? In the US, I can get an 18 for about $60 while the 30 will run me around $350...

If you can get the 30 for around $200, you're gonna be one popular guy around here!

[Ganga]

It seems to me the UK (Europe too?) gets hammered on the less expensive beverages and a break on the more expensive ones. Let me check out at RMW with their pricing. I agree with you on the general price in the US for these two whiskies.

Ok, I'm back. Prices in pounds from RMW website: 18 - 53, 25 - 122, 30 -185. So, it's a little more than twice for the 25 and a little more than thrice for the 30. It would seem that the US is getting quite the steal on the 18.

[SoMK]

HP 18 is Ca$118 here in quebec, Ca$258 for the 25 *glps * and a whopping Ca$391 for the 30yo, YI-HAW !
*I bought mine in UK and brought them back.... which isn't usually that big a discount but hey, sometimes you find real bargains*

[lincoln imp]

Ganga you are spot on. The Cheapest HP 18 i have bought in the last year or so was for £45 (approx 90$) but i have seen it as high as £65 GBP. However i have seen the 2007 bottle of 30yr advertised at duty free for £140. So we do get a raw deal on the cheaper bottles.
I am going to try and make the 30yr last for a good few months but, some things are easier said than done.

[dcb]

I was able to get the HP18 for about $67 on sale about a year ago (in the old packaging, too) and liked it so much I immediately bought a second bottle, which I still haven't opened. The price has gone up about $10 on HP18 so I'm holding out on opening that second bottle for who knows how long. That was the most I've spent on a single bottle (yea, I'm po' compared to most of you..) so I plan to make it a special occasion. It's been the best scotch I've ever tasted, by the way. my jaw hit the floor the first time I nosed the freshly opened bottle..

I remember telling myself I was going to splurge on a 30 year HP or Laphroaig when I turned 30 but it didn't happen, I bought drum gear instead.

[Sherried Malt]

For those looking for some more 18 YO, Woodland Hills Wine Co. in CA has it for $60. Website says they have 3 in stock...

No affiliation, etc. Good luck.

[Gearóidmuar]

It has been shown scientifically that if you pay more, you will enjoy it more. However, tasting blind is another matter entirely!!..

Last night I had a Cragganmore and thought it was pretty nice, but with that slight roughness that Scotch has. I immediately had a Redbreast, and it wiped the floor with the Cragganmore. Could make a song out of that. I'll bet if I had a Scotch afterwards I'd have like the roughness again. Tasting is a funny thing.
We're all wasting our money of course, though Whiskey is better value than wine, for the taste quality.

[QC1971]

A short hint from germany:

If you ever have the chance to travel to Luxembourg, you could find a Highland Park 18y for 44,50 EUR and a HP 30y for 174,- EUR. I think this will be cheapest price you can find?

Greetings from Trier!

[Laphroaig]

Admittedly I'm unsure what vintage I tasted, but I found the 30 Y.O.Highland Park I sampled, to show quite a bit of oak - more so than I care for in fact.

Is the "2007" something different? If so was there a previous version I might have tasted that begged for an ax? The 30 I tasted was on hand in the Spring of 2007 but as said, I'm not sure when it would have been bottled / what vintage.

TIA

[pmullin]

IMHO, most 25+yo standard bottlings are often overrated and are outclasses by their late-teen aged siblings.

The HP30 is a big exception to this! I don't have my tasting notes handy, but during an Edrington tasting last fall, I rated the 18 an 8/10 (very respectable), but gave the 30 a score of 9.5.

As many other have said, it is pricey, but it is nice to have as an occasional "fancy drinkin' dram"

[Jirka]

I am new here on whiskymag. But realy enjoy all of members recomandation. Now I am waiting for my HP 30yo...so believe it will be nice experiance...LOVE Highland Park

[dcb]

hm, old thread, i've since splurged on a HP25 in the old bottle and box style, saving it to open after I finish a particularly huge project I'm working on for another few months. can't wait!

[Whisky]

The Whisky Exchange are doing the 18 for £45 at the moment, which is pretty decent. I drank far too much HP last night, and shall have to restock.

[scotchdrinker]

The Whisky Exchange are doing the 18 for £45 at the moment, which is pretty decent. I drank far too much HP last night, and shall have to restock.

Doesn't that always happen when you get a good one you can't just have one. You wake up in the morning and bottle is on the nightstand/on the kitchen counter empty and your like like did I really drink all that

[Ganga]

The Whisky Exchange are doing the 18 for £45 at the moment, which is pretty decent. I drank far too much HP last night, and shall have to restock.

Doesn't that always happen when you get a good one you can't just have one. You wake up in the morning and bottle is on the nightstand/on the kitchen counter empty and your like like did I really drink all that

I blame the mice when asked.

[Giovinetti]

I have to disagree a little here. I have had couple of samples, in 2006, of the HP 30yo and was not overly impressed with either of them. For me it was not worth the price being asked for on a bottle.

SoMK and Sherried Malt:
What were your impressions of the Bicentenary? This is one of my favs and I am lucky here to have a bottle on reserve. Like many, I think it could have been bottled at higher strength but it was truly fantastic whisky.

I have enjoyed the 18 but not nearly as much as the 25 which, price/taste ratio considered, I think is one of the best HP out there today. I would love to get my hands on the Binny's HP from 71' and 73' which I hear are truly stunning Highland Park whiskies.

[Sherried Malt]

SoMK and Sherried Malt:
What were your impressions of the Bicentenary? This is one of my favs and I am lucky here to have a bottle on reserve. Like many, I think it could have been bottled at higher strength but it was truly fantastic whisky.

I have enjoyed the 18 but not nearly as much as the 25 which, price/taste ratio considered, I think is one of the best HP out there today. I would love to get my hands on the Binny's HP from 71' and 73' which I hear are truly stunning Highland Park whiskies.

The Bicentenary was my favorite HP until I came across the HP 25 (50.7% version) which I believe clearly better but at that price, it ought to be. (At the time, I was able to buy the Bicent for about $100 while the 25 was easily twice that...) Just a more explosive and interesting dram. And the 30 is perhaps a notch better but very different from the 25. The fairest thing to say is that they offer great but different drinking experiences. Not really a case of one being better than the other...

[peergynt323]

I prefer the 25yo for its tastiness, but the 30yo is something special. I'd recommend sipping the 30yo when you have very few distractions and a nice, calm setting. It's incredibly complex and almost ethereal.

[LagaDrinker]

I found the 18 YO to be a better dram than the 30 YO I had. In fact I found the 30 incredibly woody.