Highland park is a distillery I really like but unfortunately most of the time the alcohol integration is lacking a bit in my opinion. Let’s see what’s up with those birds!
An Orkney Distillery 18 yo 2000-2019 (57.1%, Elixir Distillers, The Whisky Trail Birds Series, cask #44, 317 bottles)
Colour: Gold.
Nose: That’s some typical HP profile. Light smoke, honey, heather and subtle floral notes.
Mouth: The alcohol integration is not really good unfortunately. Heather, floral honey and gentle smoke trying to fight against some alcohol notes that covers nearly everything.
Finish: Mid-long. Alcohol again, floral notes, gentle smoke and honey sweetness.
A pretty good HP profile wise, but the bad alcohol integration kills everything in my opinion.
Score: 87
Secret Orkney 18 yo 2000-2019 (53.1%, Le Gus’t, hogshead, cask #21, 356 bottles)
Colour: Pale gold.
Nose: Alcohol seems absent, that’s impressive! Wet woods, moss, mushrooms, grass. Am I in a swamp? Now it’s evolving in something more coastal with iodine and brine. Really nice.
Mouth: Alcohol is perfectly integrated and the flavours are powerful. The mouthfeel is oily and it coats delicately your mouth. Gentle smoke, iodine, wet wood, honey, chalk and some hints of aerial peat lingering after the rest fades. The mouth is in a perfect harmony with the nose.
Finish: Very long and intense. Mushroom, moss, wet wood, chalk and hints of peat. It’s complex and subtle.
That’s an incredible Highland Park with an « old school » profile that I particularly enjoy. The perfect alcohol integration and power of flavours makes me really love it.
Score: 91
Those are finally two really nice Highland Park to be honest, that’s a shame the alcohol over-presence killed the first one. Nevermind, it seems that I found another gem with those beautiful puffins.
It seems it is till available from the Cave Conseil webshop.
Tasting Bro's 
does the judgment of bad alcohol integration hold having added water in your tasting?
J’aimeAimé par 1 personne
No, I’m never adding water in my tastings. In my opinion there is too much modified variables for me to reproduce the changes. (type of water, approximate volume of water, approximate volume of whisky initially in the glass, final dilution)
So I prefer just taste everything without any additions, just as the bottler bottled it.
J’aimeAimé par 1 personne