Highland Park 10 Years Review


“Breakfast at Highland Park”

Country: Scotland 
Region: Highland-Islands-Orkney
Brand: Highland Park
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 10 Years
ABV: 40% 

Colour: Light Amber

Nose: Light but Pleasant with Malt, Butterkekse, Straw, Dried Fruits, Orange Peel, light Smoke, light Leather, Vanilla, Heather Honey, Yogurt with pieces of Apple, Banana and Peach, Plum Marmalade, light Oak, Salt and a distant hint of Cardamom. The Alcohol is not completely integrated.

Palate: Thin Delivery. The Smoke is more present here. I also find Salted Nuts, Heather Honey, Vanilla, Dried Herbs, slightly Bitter Citrus, Tea, Apple-Juice, Cocoa Powder, Leather, Pepper and Ginger.    

Finish: Slightly Oily, Dry and on the Short Side with Malt, Toast, Brown Sugar, Vanilla, Caramel, Tea, slightly Bitter Almonds, light Smoke and Ashes, light Honey, light Licorice, Ginger, Cinnamon and Oak. 

The Highland Park 10 Years does not improve with added water. 

Rating: 83

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5


General Remarks: Highland Park was founded in 1798 and is located on the Orkney Isles, off the North-East coast of Scotland. The distillery uses local Orcadian Peat, that mostly consists of Heather and other Plants. Only a limited amount of the Malt is dried with Peat though. Highland Park matures its spirits mainly in Ex-Sherry casks from both Spanish - and American Oak. HP is one of the few remaining distilleries that malts part of the Barley on their own malting floor. The HP 10 years was introduced in late 2012/early 2013. It is a limited expression that was initially released in 35 cl bottles in The Netherlands. Later these small bottles also became available in Germany, the United Kingdom and Denmark while a 75 cl bottle was released in Canada. The Spirit for this 10 Year old matured in a mixture of First-Fill and Re-Fill American Oak Ex-Sherry Casks. The average price for a 35 cl bottle is 25 US Dollars (July 2015).

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: A drinkable but pretty Standard Young Highland Park. The Nose is the best part. It reminds me of a plate of of Milk and Breakfast Cereals with added Fresh - and Dried Fruits. The Palate and Finish do not quite deliver what the Nose promises. Here I find this HP lacking in Depth and Consistency. It's all a bit Thin if you ask me. The "low" ABV does not help either. It's similar to the 12 Years but the 2 years do make a difference and my advice would be to stick with the 12 Years if you like this Flavour Profile.   

Jan van den Ende                                                                        July 2, 2015

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