Insider knowledge: Highland Park 18 Year Old whisky is named whisky by virtue of the fact it's from Scotland. If distilled in America the spelling would be Highland Park 18 Year Old whiskey, as opposed to whisky.
The nose is a profusion of ripe floral notes and fresh blossom with a delectable fruit salad. Notes of honeyed exotic fruits with a little botrytis. The palate is creamy and full with fruit conserves and espresso. A creaminess with cinnamon and allspice. Notes of toffee with thick black forest honey with a touch more citrus. The finish is long and well sugared with a herbal edge.
By far the best HP in the standard bottlings. Perfectly balanced.
This one MUST be in every whiskylovers collection etc. DRINK IT & ENJOY!!!
If you think the 25 and 30 is good, try this. It's better. Oh yes. Believe you me. This is one of the best bottlings to come out of Scotland.
I love all types of whisky: sherried, smoky, peaty, briney, floral, honeyed, spicy - you name it, if it is a good version of its genre, I will happily drink it. This one has all these things - in balance. None dominate, all blend together. I have to say that in my view this is way way better than the 12 year. And it is one of the best I have drunk. If i said it was also a bit like some of the better Japanese whiskies - but seemed just a tad more authentic - how would you take that? I hope like a shot - cos authenticity comes cheaper in this case. £50 well spent!
Perfect balance in sweetness and smokiness. I Agree with "The word is balance" post, you can almost find a bit of everything in this whisky, all in perfect balance with every other flavor. Buy it, drink it and enjoy. This whisky is a special one.
I just can't get excited about this whisky. I've quickly built up a collection of different single malts over the last couple of years and regularly buy samples too but this one doesn't give me much to shout about. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine whisky, but after 5 or 6 glasses (over the course of time - not one night!) it still fails to inspire me as many other whiskies have. I think at some point it was voted the best single malt in the world so I'm clearly in the minority but, hey - it's all down to taste!
B**ger me, this is good isn't it?
I have to say I agree with pretty much all the positive and critical reviews here. Firstly it is exceptionally well balanced, and a fine whisky. But i also have to agree with one of the more critical reviewers; I also fail to really get excited by it. Perhaps because it is too balanced? maybe it doesn't excel in any one area but hits so many notes well. Still.... I have to recommend it, its a mighty fine malt.
An exeptional whisky. I have a collection of around 50 single malts and I have to say this beats them all. Superbly balanced and smooth - a night in front of an open fire is made for this offering from Orkney. Well done HP, well done indeed
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This one is quite possibly the best-balanced whisky I've ever tried. It's got a bit of everything - smoke, but not overpowering, a touch of honey sweetness, a delicious salty tang and a mouthwatering finish. One of my 4-5 favourite whiskies.
Decadent whiskey! This is perfect for every mood and if I was a high roller I would sip this until the cows came home! I wanna bathe in this wonderful creation.
After Lafroaig and Lagavulin, this one does not impress much (though it has some unusual peaty traits).
Lovely perfectly balanced whisky, although on occasion I do get more out of the 1998 travel 12 year old. Overpriced here in australia: $160.00! I just also got the overpriced leif eriksson travel edition, overpriced but lovely stuff, there is a lot of hate out there for the eriksson HP, but let it breath for at least half an hour (with a lid) it really opens up.
The standard HP12 was the very malt to cause me to take whisky seriously, three years ago. After tasting, buying and gaining more whisky than I can really afford since, I finally treatd myself to a bottle recently. My, what a treat! I worried that I'd put it so high up in my mind prior to tasting, that it may fail to impress. No chance. From the first sniff to finishing my first glass I feel I have found a long term friend - presuming they maintain quality. I will certainly be buying another bottle in the future. If I had to pick a small fault, it would be better bottled at 46%, but this is an excellent dram to be savoured. Keep it consistent HP.
I'm fairly new to single malts but so far this one is the best, I'm almost done with the first bottle but got 2 back up bottles :)
A superb Scotch, balanced and absolutely a joy to drink. As close to a perfect Scotch as you are going to get. I immediately went out and bought 2 back up bottles.
Normally, I absolutely love this scotch, but the last time round, I ended up with a dud of a bottle. After surfing around online, I saw that others are complaining as well. My bottle was not a freak of nature or the victim of "cork rot." It was just a bad batch, so to speak. When the 18 year is good, it's very good, but when it's bad it's dismal. Beware of recent batches.
When given the choice I always come back to this one. By far my all time favourite scotch. I own a great collection, but this is the one I go to for those special occasions. When I close my eyes I feel like I'm in a gentleman's club in the 1930's, sitting back in a comfy leather armchair and sipping this slowly while enjoying a good cigar. Highly recommended.
I am a huge fan of Highland Park and single malts as well as bourbons in general. I'd have to say whisk(e)y only comes a few times a week for me as my main focus is craft beer, but I'm telling you Highland Park anything is hard to beat. I always have the 12,15, and 18 at my home bar. The 25 comes occasionally. But this is in my opinion the best 18 yr old single malt scotch on the planet. Ive had many good ones, but none have done it the way this one does it. Brilliant liquid here. Now let's hope I can get my hands on some 16,21,30,40 and maybe some Thor lol. Top shelf
Keep your eyes peeled for Loki too, available very soon, but watch out he's a mischievous so-and-so! - The Chaps at Master of Malt
Love it! As to the batch issue, my faith is renewed! I am once again a disciple of Highland Park 18! Still waters run deep.
It if great whiskey, and personally I put it among top 10 scotch whiskeys I tried so far (~120 were sampled). We had four bottles of HP 18yo between my whiskey buddy and me, but recently got another bottle, which really different. It has really bad and bitter alcoholic taste with some HP character on background. I contacted HP distillery and got no response, but it seems from the internet reviews that several recent batches of HP 18 yo are indeed looks like mine. Bottom line: out of five bottle of HP 18 yo, four were great and one not good.