
March 24, 2026

WF's Little Duos, today two wee Highland Parks, for completeness

Every time we wrap up a big series on one distillery or another, no sooner is it published than, lo and behold, a few outrageously tempting new bottlings from that very distillery land on the doorstep of Château Whiskyfun. Sometimes the very same day, sometimes the next. Typical. Take these two Highland Parks, for instance… as if we could possibly leave them sitting there any longer. Not a chance.

Highland Park 18 yo (50.8%, Elixir Distillers, Macbeth Act Two, Young Siward, 650 bottles, 2025)

For us French, Shakespeare tends to stop at ‘To be or not to be’ and an old sketch by Rowan Atkinson. It was high time we broadened our culture, thanks to the good care of Elixir Distillers. Colour: pale gold. Nose: strong presence of wet plaster and beach sand to begin with, before it moves towards new jumper and mint tea with pine nuts. It then becomes more medicinal and remains rather distant from the official bottlings, generally more marked by sherry. With water: it remains very mineral but there are amusing little notes of pastis or ouzo that come along and join in. Mouth (neat): powerful, peaty, oily, very different from the nose but, naturally, some points of contact remain, such as that wet chalk and green tea. It carries on with liquorice wood with a slight peppery edge and very dry old Madeira (Sercial from Blandy’s). With water: bitter citrus zests come rushing in and the whole becomes more bitter and peppery. Finish: long, always bitter, with a drop of Spanish olive oil, peppery and herbal. May we recommend that from Clos Mogador, in Priorat? Their wines too, of course. Comments: this is a dry HP that leans a little towards young BN, even Ledaig in certain respects. Excellent, of course.
SGP:363 - 89 points.

Secret Orkney Distillery 25 yo 1999/2025 (51.2%, The Whisky Agency, Wave Farewell to 2025, hogshead, 135 bottles)

We must hurry up and taste this whole series before we get too far away from 2025, you see. Colour: pale gold. Nose: we are really not far from the previous one, there is still plenty of chalk, but also fern, lemon peel, ground toasted buckwheat, lupin coffee, greengages, fresh sourdough bread… Then a few drops of mead, lightly honeyed, but we are not really talking about heather honey. With water: it has become almost identical to the Macbeth. In any case, it cannot be Scapa, which had been mothballed from 1994 to, I believe, the year 2000, although there may have been the odd small batches distilled from time to time to keep the equipment in shape, just as at Ardbeg. In any case, we have tasted some Scapa 2000 from G&M. In short, this is indeed Highland Park, there is no mistaking it. Mouth (neat): earthy and rooty just as we like them, wild carrots, turnips, gentian, honey cake, elder eau-de-vie, drops of seawater, orange zests. It is very fine and ultimately rather oily and full-bodied. With water: it does not change much, there is simply a little more smoky pepper. Finish: long, saline, oily, mineral, citrusy, peaty, very Highland Park in style. Comments: good, one small extra point, probably linked to the seven additional years of maturation.
SGP:363 - 90 points.

Check the index of all Highland Park we've tasted