Old Malt Cask Highland Park 10 Years Old

Tasted in Whisky Magazine Issue 5 by Michael Jackson and Jim Murray.

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Tasting Notes

Michael Jackson Nose Fragrant smoke and polished oak. Palate Rich. Hugely voluptuous sherry. Golden Syrup. Finish Some spicy esters emerging. Soothing. Warming. Comment Utterly delicious, but the sherry masks the peat and salt.

Jim Murray Nose A surprisingly oaky start for a young Highland Park; spicy and subdued peat as well. Lacks the usual distillery balance. Palate Massively spicy start, though once the big honey-peat middle kicks in, this soon fades. Some sherry fruitiness makes itself evident, but succeeds only in flattening the palate. Finish Quite long and peaty but otherwise featureless. Comment Only the fabulous honey-peat core saves this from being something of a disappointment. I have always felt the Highland Park is a malt that suffers at the hands of a sherry cask and this sample, while having one or two fabulous moments, rather proves the point.