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| May 20, 2012 |   |
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| Highland Park 11 vs 22 vs 33 years old |
| Silly because indeed, I chose these whiskies only because of the numbers. Good news that I don't have any 44 years old at hand ;-)… |
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Highland Park 11 yo 2000/2012 (50,9%, Archives, bourbon hogshead, cask #800005, 129 bottles)  Colour: white wine. Nose: the good thing with HP is that even when it's very young and maybe not totally mature, it can be quite great because of the very classy and pretty complex distillate. This baby's a good example, as it blends mineral and slightly smoky tones with a fresh fruitiness, apples, greengages, limes and even touches of kiwis. Distant whiffs of diesel oil and fish market (early in the morning!) then more earthy notes. Again, very classy distillate. Mouth: young, very zesty, very lemony. Well in keeping with the nose but rather less complex, but we don't always need complexity, do we? Becomes a tad sugary after a few minutes. Sweet barley, orange squash. Finish: medium long, a little more on stout, caramelised barley… Comments: very likable and the nose was perfect. The palate was maybe a little more mundane. SGP:441 - 84 points. |
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Highland Park 22 yo (46%, OB for Waldhaus am See, Switzerland, 2011)  From a single cask but no further details are provided. Colour: gold. Nose: very nice but the oak's quite loud, as we get a lot of pencil shavings and eucalyptus at first nosing. Then more Seville oranges and ginger, game, ham, mead, chocolate, honeydew… Some aspects are very nice and it's certainly complex spirit, but I fear the palate will be too oaky after such a nose. Biggish oak in the nose can be great - and quite disastrous on the palate in my opinion. Mouth: indeed, this baby's very oaky. Acrid, tannic, tea-ish… All that makes for a funny contrast with the notes of bubblegum and marshmallows that start to rise after a moment. Liquorice allsorts. Finish: medium long, still tannic. Strong tea, grape pips, menthol… Comments: a very unusual official, less 'smoooth and rich' than most other OBs. Don't get me wrong, it's still excellent whisky, it's just that, well, you have to like this style. SGP:471 - 85 points. |
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Highland Park 33 yo 1978/2011 (55.7%, Douglas Laing, Platinum, Old & Rare, 207 bottles) Colour: gold. Nose: quite some straight sulphur at first nosing, shoe polish, struck matches, hardboiled egg… I think I'll have to wait a bit - that may vanish, or rather my olfactory equipment may get used to this… zzz zzz zzz. After fifteen minutes: indeed, it got much more bearable and we now have more bitter oranges and pine sap. There's also something like horse dung, hay, manure, game…. Well, it's not exactly coastal, to say the least. With water: less sulphur for sure, and more tobacco and leather, which, I agree, can be close. The farmy notes got fresher and cleaner as well. Swims well! Mouth (neat): very flinty attack, very lemony as well, extremely nervous, with a lot of Schweppes and lemonade. Gin as well? Then bitter oranges, truckloads of bitter oranges. Unusual! With water: ah yes, now it's excellent. Creamy, with oranges, Cointreau, a little ginger liqueur, spices, mint, cinnamon, star anise… Very well, it was worth the wait. Finish: long, all on ginger, honey and bitter oranges. Comments: this kind of whisky is hard to score as it keeps changing over time and depending on the amount of water you add. Some parts are stunning, some maybe slightly flawed. Needs time and water. SGP:562 - 87 points. |
MUSIC - Recommended listening: let's have a good slice of heavy 'modern' delta-style blues by The Josh Pilot Band. It's on their album 'Price To Pay' and it's called When I'm dead. Please buy everything and anything The Josh Pilot Band. |
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Copyright
Serge Valentin, Nick Morgan and all the Malt Maniacs |
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