About twenty Highland Park, split over three sessions


February 24, 2026

About twenty Highland Park, split over three sessions

With so many new releases and whiskies from every corner of the globe – not to mention the more obscure Scottish distilleries we love to sample as often as possible – we might end up overlooking the heavy hitters, the safe bets, the big names if we’re not careful. That’s why today we’re embarking on a large-scale ‘Highland Park’ operation, throwing in, from time to time, that ingredient we’re so fond of: chance. Because at Whiskyfun, the only thing we’re truly afraid of is boredom…

OB vs G&M: Can you spot the differences?

Highland Park 8 yo (70°proof, OB, James Grant for Hepburn & Ross, Malt Scotch Whisky, UK, cork stopper, +/-1970)

The famous ‘official’ label also used by Gordon & MacPhail. This was before the ‘view of Orkney’ label but after the ‘St. Magnus’ label with its lovely vivid yellow. We do adore vivid yellow at WF. Colour: amber. Nose: caramel, earth, tobacco, mosses, mushrooms and camphor in perfect synchronisation. All of this murmurs rather gently, yet without being weak or in any way frustrating, at least for now. Mouth: initially very much a mirror of the nose, then the saline and smoky notes begin to assert themselves, with more richness than expected, although we could hardly call this baby a heavyweight wrestler. Finish: long and even more coastal, while damp earth returns to try to sign off the whole, but a touch of caramel and powdered coffee remains in the aftertaste. Comments: almost the power of an old white wine, truth be told. We begin to dream of a 100° proof version, which we know did exist, did it not…
SGP:462 - 89 points.

Highland Park 8 yo (70°proof, OB, Gordon & MacPhail, Scotch Malt Whisky, UK, +/-1975)

The attentive observer will have noticed that the proprietors’ version stated, ‘Malt Scotch Whisky’, whereas this G&M version declared ‘Scotch Malt Whisky’. Do we not say that all these details are useless, yet when they are removed, everything collapses? Colour: amber. Nose: we are less close than we had expected, this one is livelier, tauter, fruitier, packed with candied oranges and the proverbial heather honey, before moving towards blond tobacco, chalk and slate. Easier, more seductive, and more… for us. Mouth: same impressions, it feels more ‘80° proof’, oranges, honey, beeswax, all delivered with rare elegance yet without forgetting its coastal origins, as a few notes of seaweed appear, three drops of seawater, and even, perhaps, a small oyster. Finish: rather long and now frankly peaty, with magnificent bitters, on ale and amontillado. Comments: here we are already very high indeed. Bravo to everyone at G&M, or rather, to their predecessors.
SGP:563 - 91 points.

Let’s return to more recent expressions…

An Orkney Distillery 12 yo 2006/2019 (48%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Elixir Distillers, US exclusive, Parcel No.1)

A vatting of five casks. And yes, we are terribly late. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: lovely sherry, lovely fresh walnuts, lovely tobacco, impeccable new leather, wafts of mosses and pine needles, hints of citrus zest, in short everything is well and truly in its place here and now. Bitter almond and orgeat… Then chalk and fresh country bread. Mouth: smoked brown bread and rather salty seaweed. There is truly a sense of place. Finish: long, smoky, citrus-led, jammy, yet nervy. Comments: a rather dominant HP, but in a way that commands respect. Excellent, and it held up very well after the old 8-year-olds. I have absolutely no idea why I had not tasted it before.
SGP:563 - 87 points.

Highland Park 9 yo 2015/2025 (50%, The Cooper’s Choice, The Golden Cut Collection, Malaga finish, 342 bottles)

What type of Malaga are we dealing with? Very sweet PX or, on the contrary, bone dry as a truncheon blow, which we rather adore… Colour: deep gold. Nose: it is rich and it is rounded, this is sweet Malaga, all maple syrup and sultanas gone wild. The cask’s impact is significant, yet that does not mean it fails to work. It continues towards Cointreau further enriched with honey… With water: the honey takes flight and joins forces with lime blossom infusion. Mouth (neat): strictly identical to the nose, Cointreau, honey, candied oranges, raisins etc. etc. etc. With water: pretty herbal infusions and little earthy touches join in and increase the overall complexity. Finish: of medium length, a little less demonstrative, it settles down somewhat. Comments: rounded and ultimately all about softness. A lovely bottle, assuredly.
SGP:641 - 84 points.

Old Orkney 15 yo ‘Auld Reekie‘(48.5%, Decadent Drinks for Royal Mile Whiskies, sherrywood, 396 bottles, 2025)

Old Orkney 15 yo ‘For Auld Reekie‘(48.5%, Decadent Drinks for Royal Mile Whiskies, sherrywood, 396 bottles, 2025)

An old brand redolent of Stromness and then G&M, recovered in a very clever fashion by Angus’s Decadent Drinks. Roots matter, do they not. Auld Reekie is of course one of the nicknames of Edinburgh, while we are also great admirers of these rather Spinal Tap-esque decimal bottling strengths: 48.5% is not 48%, is it. Colour: full gold. Nose: oh that is clever indeed. Remarkable how it recalls the two 8-year-olds we tasted at the start of this little session, earth, mead, walnut, also tobacco, Iberian ham and even marrow broth. And as so often, orange then comes along to bring order to this joyful chaos, an ultra-positive term in our mouth. Mouth: sulphur from the distillate, paraffin, green walnut, gunpowder, aubergine, bitter orange… It almost makes me think of the copyists at the Louvre who reproduce, some a Van Gogh, others a Renoir. Finish: long and bitter, earthy, antique. Comments: formidable, you simply have to love bitters and gunpowder as much as your humble servant does.
SGP:372 - 87 points.

Whitlaw 10 yo 2015/2025 (56.9%, Brothers in Malt, refill sherry butt, cask #22, 550 bottles)

Whitlaw is HP. Colour: gold. Nose: the exact opposite of the OO, it is packed with bubblegum and coconut milk, hairspray, banana foam, stewed rhubarb… It is genuinely very cheerful and playful for HP. In any case, for now, one might think it was first-fill bourbon. With water: much the same, more lemongrass and lemon balm water. Mouth (neat): limoncello at full throttle and little assorted fruit sweets. Including lemon, of course. With water: much the same, plus plenty of barley syrup and, at last, a few more maritime touches. Finish: rather long, still incredibly fruity yet balanced by green tea and seaweed. And beeswax. Comments: an HP that makes one think of Littlemill, that is quite something, is it not? Or of Scapa? In theory, no. But it is tremendous fun, spectacular and very good. It is simply not very ‘HP’…
SGP:751 - 85 points.

Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Orkney 8 yo 2016/2025 (57.5%, Cadenhead, Enigma, bourbon barrels, 888 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: this is astonishing, here we are headlong into chervil and tarragon, bay leaf, then sauna oils and lemons. It is most unusual, very much in a clear-line style, very cold-brew green tea in fact. And I find it simple, yet magnificent. With water: fresh barley joins the festivities. Mouth (neat): ex-bourbon to the hilt, lemon, green pepper, vanilla, all in that order. And nothing else, yet that is quite enough for us. With water: always that very beautiful lightness which, to tell you the truth, does not feel terribly ‘HP’ either. Finish: of medium length, fresh, almost floral at this stage. Shortbread. Comments: it should not be Scapa, yet it could be Scapa. And so it might not be HP, but that was also the case with the previous one, truth be told, even if it was called Whitlaw.
SGP:651 - 85 points.

We may have had enough of these ‘secret’ single malts, haven’t we? Can’t the EU compel distillers to allow the use of the original single malt names, if only in the interests of transparency? Ah well, perhaps not. In any case, see you soon — seven HPs or near-HPs per session is quite enough; we’ll have more tomorrow. Promise.

(Thanks ever so much, Angus, Morten and Olivier)

Check the index of all Highland Park we've tasted