Highland Park Harald Review

“Toy Soldier”

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland-Island-Orkney

Brand: Highland Park Harald

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 40% 

Date: 06/04/2014

Colour: Yellow Golden 

Nose: Very similar to Svein. Quite Light and Floral with Honey, Heather, Pine Needles, Straw, Oak, Malt, Cereals, Dried Fruit, Nuts, Orange Peel, Red Apples, Coconut, Mint, Treacle, light Vanilla, Soft Peat Smoke and assorted Spices including Cardamom. Traces of Ginger-Ale, Vinegar and Soy Sauce. The Alcohol is not fully integrated.  

Palate: Light with Dried Fruits, Nut Shells, Berries, Orange Peel, light Licorice, light Honey, light Vanilla, Toffee, Treacle, light Cinnamon, light Pepper, light Smoke and Nutmeg.

Finish: Short with Toffee, Caramel, Treacle, Oak, Dried Fruits, light Smoke, light Pepper and Cloves.

I added a bit of Water and on the Nose you get a tad more Smoke. But Palate and Finish become too Watery. Better sip Harald neat!

Rating: 82.5

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: Highland Park was founded in 1798 by Magnus Eunson and is the most northerly distillery in Scotland, It is located on the Orkney Isles, off the North-East coast of Scotland. Highland Park is one the very few remaining distilleries that malts (at least part of) the Barley on its own malting floor. 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 is owned by the Edrington Group. In 2008 the very nice Visitor Centre was upgraded.

Together with Einar, Svein, Sigurd, Ragnvald and Thorfinn, the Highland Park Harald is part of the Warrior Series, released in 2013, initially via Travel Retail. All six are named after Viking warriors with the idea to match the whisky with the characteristics of the warrior in question. Harald is named after Harald Fairhair, Norwegian King and founder of the Orkney Earldom. He is said to have been responsible for developing the Viking Armies that spread so much terror in Northern Europe. The Harald is sold at between 75 and a 100 US Dollars and matured in an almost equal mix of American Oak and European Oak. Roughly 50% of the casks used is first fill.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good.

Conclusion: I'm Sorry but Harald should not be part of a Warrior Series. The spirit reminds me more of a tired elderly lady selling Honey, Dried Fruits and home-made Raspberry Jam at the local fair. Harald is a very light, floral and fruity Single Malt that suffers from the low ABV and a too dominant Toffee and Caramel profile. It's dangerously drinkable but also extremely forgettable! 

Jan van den Ende                                                               April 2014

Johnnie Walker Platinum Review

“No Heavy Metal”

Country: Scotland

Brand: Johnnie Walker Platinum

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: 18 Years

ABV: 40%

Date: 03/04/2014

Colour: Amber

Nose: Light, almost transparent. It's not bad but not very exciting either. I find Toasted Cereals, Malt, Nuts, Oak, Dried Apricot, Lemon Peel, Banana, Orange Marmalade, Toffee, Caramel, Butterscotch, very light Spices, Dried Herbs, light  Smoke and hints of Espresso, Candied Cherries, Peaches and Salt. The Alcohol is not fully integrated. It reminds me a little bit of the old JW Gold but somehow it seems more fragile, less confident.

Taste: Thin and slightly Watery Delivery with Grain Alcohol, Caramel, Toffee, Wax, slightly Bitter Oak, Resin, Orange, Dried Herbs, light Honey, light Smoke and a pinch of Salt.

Finish: Short, Clean, Sugary Sweet at first but quickly Drying. Doesn't show a lot of character here. I find Nuts, Caramel, Toffee, Orange, slightly Bitter Oak, light Smoke, light Spices and hints of Menthol and Cinnamon. 

The Johnnie Walker Platinum does not improve with added Water. It's best enjoyed over a little Ice.

Rating: 83

Nose: 21.5 – Taste: 20 – Finish: 20.5 – Overall: 21

General Remarks: The Johnnie Walker Brand is owned since 1997 by the Diageo Group. As you will probably know the Green and Gold were recently discontinued while the Gold Reserve and the Platinum were added to the range. 
The Platinum costs around a 100 US Dollars and sits price wise between Black and Blue. Platinum contains 20-25 Single Malts, mainly from Speyside, as well as some selected Grain Whiskies. All of them matured for at least 18 years.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Good 

Conclusion: Slightly better than JW Double Black but no match for the old Gold and Green. The standard Black has a much better price/quality ratio and the Blue, while better, is too expensive for what it offers. The packaging of the Platinum is very sophisticated but the Blend misses Power and Character. The low ABV only reinforces these shortcomings. It's not interesting enough as a sipping Whisky and simply too expensive to drink over Ice. Back to Black for me!

Jan van den Ende                                                                 April 2014

BenRiach Solstice Review

“Peat Bomb”

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Speyside

Brand: BenRiach Solstice (Heavily Peated - Port Finish - 2nd Edition)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  17 Years

ABV:  50 % 

Colour: Reddish Copper/Mahogany

Nose: A combination of Peat, Smoke and Red Fruit. I find Earthy Peat, Wet Clay, Stale Cigar Smoke, Dirty Ashes, Cheap Leather, Salt Water, Cured Meat,  Rubber, BBQ Sauce, Oak, Pine Needles, Burned Toast, Treacle, Caramel, Red Apple, Black Currants, Cranberries and traces of fortified Red Wine and Orange Flavoured Chocolate. It reminds me a bit of the Longrow Peated Red Cabernet Sauvignon Cask but this BenRiach is less elegant and not quite as balanced. The Alcohol is not fully integrated.

Palate: Quite Dry. It follows the Nose with Peat, Smoke, Ashes, Burned Toast, Dried Fruits, Peanuts, Caramel/Toffee, Brown Sugar, Oak, Salted Butter, Red Apple, Water Melon, Spiced Red Wine, Pepper and Licorice.

Finish: Quite Long, mostly Dry, Warming and a bit Meaty towards the end with Toasted Cereals, Earth, Peat, Smoke, Cigar Ashes, Salt, Licorice, Pepper, Oak, Dried Herbs, Cough Syrup, Cured Meat, Lemon an a trace of Plastic.

I added a bit of Water. This enhances the Red Fruit on the Nose but does not do the Peat any justice. On the Palate you gain some Spice but the Finish becomes way too short. You can carefully try out a few drops but I prefer to sip it neat.

Rating: 84.5

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: The BenRiach distillery is located in the heart of the Speyside between Elgin and Rothes. It was founded around 1898 by John Duff, the owner of the nearby Longmorn distillery. Today it's one of the few distilleries with its own Malting Floors. Since 2004, it is independently owned by BenRiach Distillery Company. Most of their production goes into the Chivas Regal Blends. Just like the original Solstice 15 Release, this 2nd Edition was distilled with Heavily Peated Barley. The Spirit matured in Ex-Bourbon Casks before being finished in Tawny Port Casks. It sells at an average 85 US Dollars, is Uncoloured and not Chill-Filtered.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: I like it when young, juicy Peat and Sherry and/or Fruit meet in a good Single Malt. That's not the case here. In this 17 Year old BenRiach you will find a more mature, slightly tired and Earthy Peat in combination with a quite strong Oak influence and some assorted Spices and Herbs. Especially on the Palate and in the Finish I would have liked to find some more (Fresh) Fruit. Maybe younger Single Malts would benefit from a finish in fortified Wine Casks while more mature Single Malts might enjoy a Finish with Cabernet Sauvignon or perhaps a Gamay from the Beaujolais Region. This way you would combine old and young/fresh and could end up with a nicely balanced Malt. But only in case you would like to give your Single Malt a Red Wine finish of course. I'm not an expert in this field and I might be completely wrong. I'm just writing down my thoughts as they appear while sipping this BenRiach. To sum things up, I find that the Solstice Port Finish is indeed heavily peated. I don't have any problems with that if there are enough Sweet Flavours around to create a balance. As it is, Peat, Ashes, Wood and Spices are just a tad too dominant for my taste. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                        April 1, 2014