If you want to taste bourbon matured Highland Park, you’re best bet is to go and see what the independent bottlers have on offer. Like Gordon & MacPhail for example, who have bottled a Highland Park 1995 22 Years Old for The Whisky Exchange.
Finding an official bourbon-matured Highland Park is rare, as the distillery has installed a 100% sherry cask regime in 2004. However, before they did used to fill a percentage of ex-bourbon casks as well. It is from that time, that today’s bottling stems.
Highland Park 1995 22 Years Old (53,2%, Gordon & MacPhail, C#1498)
Nose: Quite spicy and with some minerals. Slightly farmy. There’s heather and straw and earth, before it being lifted by fruity notes of apple peel and pear skin. Finally a hint of cardboard. A tad harsh. While it is bottled at 53,2 percent, I expected this to be a bit more gentle after 22 years of aging.
Taste: A sweet arrival with a gentle peat influence, accompanied by soft spices like white pepper and nutmeg. A whiff of honey, as well as green apples and some bitterness. Somewhat leafy, and there’s green olives here as well. A tad dry.
Finish: Dry and spicy with a hint of smoke.
Rating: 88
Not my preferred flavour profile, but an undeniable good whisky. If you like honest, refill bourbon matured Highland Park, you might just think of this even more highly than I do. Available from The Whisky Exchange.
Sample provided by The Whisky Exchange