Highland Park 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland-Island-Orkney

Brand: Highland Park

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 12 Years

ABV:  40 % (UK Bottling)

Colour: Amber (No Colouring Added)

Nose: Relatively young with Sherry, Sweet Barley, Floral Tones (Heather, Grass), Orange, Honey, Light Peat, Buttered Toast and Marmalade, Salt, Creamy Milk with Banana and Apple Flavour, Raisins, Dried Apricots, Wood and Leather. There's some Alcohol to be found as well and perhaps a whiff of Sulphur and Varnish. It's almost like a plate of Creamy Milk with Breakfast Cereals, Dried Fruits and a sprinkle of Honey and Fruit-Fragrances. This Nose won't change the world but it's well-balanced and inoffensive.

Palate: An ABV of 40% does not do justice to this Single Malt. The delivery is simply too watery for my taste. It's also a bit disappointing after the pleasant enough Nose. I get Malt, Sherry, Floral Tones, Orange, Caramel/Butterscotch, Wood, light Peat/Smoke, Brown Sugar, Pepper, Burnt Nuts, slightly Bitter Cocoa Powder and light Varnish. 

Finish: Middle-Long with some Vanilla, Butterscotch, slightly Bitter Wood Shavings, Nuts and light Ashes.

I added a bit of Water and the Nose gets dominated by Sweet Grains and Bananas. The Palate becomes a bit Dusty and Earthy with light Smoke and Ashes. Better sip the HP 12 neat. 

Rating: 84

Nose: 22 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: Highland Park, founded in 1798, is the most northerly distillery in Scotland 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 mainly matures their spirits in Ex-sherry casks from both Spanish and, curiously, American Oak. Highland Park is one the very few remaining distilleries that malts (at least part of the) Barley on their own malting floor.The HP 12 years is chill-filtered and various batches are vatted before bottling to maintain consistency. The HP 12 costs on average around 50 US Dollars. The US Bottling has a more adequate ABV of 43%.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: Not an easy one to judge. On the plus side there is the excellent Price-Quality ratio. It's also a nice bridge between Speyside and the lighter-peated Islays. And I quite like the Nose. It's not something special but it is well-balanced. None of the aromas seem to dominate. On the other hand, the Palate suffers from the too low (British) ABV of 40%. I also find the HP 12 a bit too balanced on the Palate. I miss a bit of character and I believe it would benefit from a longer maturation. So to sum it up, the HP 12 is a well-crafted Single Malt and I can understand that lots of people love sipping this stuff. Personally however, I would have liked to find a bit more Character and Personality in this spirit.

Jan van den Ende                                                                      April 13, 2013

John Barr Black Blended Scotch Review

Country: Scotland 

Brand: John Barr Black

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: NAS 

ABV: 40 %

Colour: Mahogany

Nose: There are no unpleasant off-notes but there's not much to discover as well. A very basic combination of Wood, Spices (Mainly Pepper), Cereals, light Peat/Smoke, Caramel, Nuts, Honey, Alcohol and hints of Sherry and Green Apples.

Palate: Smooth, Sweet and Uneventful with Caramel/Butterscotch, Malt, Grains, Honey, Wood, Nougat, Pepper and a bit of Sherry.

Finish: Short with Caramel/Butterscotch/Toffee, Oak, Vanilla, Licorice (Slight) and Pepper.

With some added Water, extra Fruity tones (Apple, Pear) appear on the Nose. Although Palate and Finish are watered down slightly, the John Barr Black Label does accept a couple of drops. Just try it out.

Rating: 77

Nose: 19.5 - Taste: 19.5 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19 

General Remarks: John Barr Cumming was a whisky trader from yesteryear. His family background dates back to the Speyside region in the 19th century. The Brand became known in 1977/1978 when it replaced Johnnie Walker Red Label in the UK following the EEC ruling on pricing and taxes. At that time the EEC ruled in favour of the free flows of goods and JW's owners at the time (Distillers Co.Ltd) decided to vastly increase the JW prices, effectively pricing itself out of the market for a while. Almost immediately, Distillers Co.Ltd introduced John Barr Blends with very similar quality, packaging and bottles in order to keep their customers satisfied. Eventually, the Brand name was acquired in 1986 by John Barr & Company of Glasgow, part of the Whyte & Mackay Group. The John Barr Blend was created by Richard Paterson, W&M's Master Blender. Malt whiskies of up to 15 years are used in the Black Label. Speyside - and Highland Malts are said to be at the heart of this Blend of 40 Grain - and Malt whiskies. I'm fairly sure a bit of peated Highland or Islay is mixed in as well. In most places, John Barr Black sells at between 22 and 25 US Dollars. In Brazil I paid 35 US Dollars. There are also Red, Gold and Blue versions of this Blend. In some countries the John Barr Black Label is bottled at 43%.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Drinking Experience On the Rocks: Good

Conclusion: There's nothing really wrong with this blend. It's quite drinkable both neat and on the Rocks. I can't find any significant off-notes. And it's a big step up from the unpleasant Red Label. But on the other hand it's almost completely dominated by Caramel and Wood (Spice). Too one-sided really and therefore a bit boring. It's no match for Johnny Walker Black Label if you allow me to make the comparison.

Jan van den Ende                                                                     April 9, 2013

Bakery Hill Peated CS Single Malt Whisky Review

Country: Australia 

Region: Victoria

Brand: Bakery Hill

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 59.8 %

Sample Received from Andrew in Australia. Thanks!

Colour: Pale Gold

Nose: There is a young, almost savage feeling to the Nose. Peat is the initial impression and it's quite different from Islay Peat, certainly at first. It's more like a mix of the Cooked Vegetables of the Jura Superstition and the Metallic, Rubber and Plastic impressions of the Irish Connemara Peated Single Malt. With time in the glass however, the Peat becomes less dominant, almost mellow and more in balance with the other aromas I pick up such as Pizza or (Sour) Bread Dough, Cured - and Raw Meat, Green Coffee Beans, Sweet Grains, Buttered Toast, Leather, Ashes, Wood and Brown Sugar. After a while, light additional Sweet tones like Toffee, Honey, Vanilla, Milk and Butterscotch come through, as well as some Stone Fruit. The Alcohol is there for sure but not as overwhelming as you would expect given the ABV of around 60%. 

Palate: Very Powerful Delivery with Peat, Sweet Cereals, Vanilla, Wood, (Chili)Pepper, Malt, Toffee/Butterscotch, Salt, Berries and Marzipan. 

Finish: Quite lasting with Wood-Smoked Meat, Peat, Oak, Pepper, Aniseed, Licorice, Menthol, Talisker-like Pepper, Ashes and a handful of Salt.

With a bit of Water the Nose softens up and Malt, Toasted Grains, Peat, Toffee, Honey, Lemon and Leather form a nice combo. The Palate is toned down a bit but (Talisker) Pepper, Menthol, Salt and Licorice are stronger in the Finish and some Cocoa Powder is noticeable.

Rating: 85

Nose:  22 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: This Distillery was founded in 1998 by David Baker. The first spirit was produced in 2000 and the first Single Malt whisky was available in 2003. The Distillery is located in North Balwyn, Victoria in the South of Australia. It produces unpeated, peated and double matured (Ex-Bourbon and French Oak) Single Malts. The distillery only bottles Single Casks, does not use colourants and does not chill-filter. Initially, the Peated Malt was directly imported from the UK. Bakery Hill tried to negotiate buying Peated Barley from local Australian Maltsters but they showed no interest on account of the small quantities that Bakery Hill required. Nowadays, Bakery Hill buys the Peated Malt in New-Zealand. Most likely the New Zealanders import the Peat from Scotland. The peated Bakery Hill matures in small 100 L refashioned Ex-Bourbon Casks from Jack Daniels to intensify the interaction between spirit and wood. It's not cheap at between 100-130 US Dollars (April 2013)

Drinking Experience Neat: Good (Sip and Enjoy).

Conclusion: This is my first Australian whisky and I'm impressed. It's a young whisky of course and there are some raw edges to the Nose of this peated Bakery Hill. I miss some extra Fruity tones and this whisky would benefit from a longer maturation and perhaps some additional Sherry Cask Finishing. But it's certainly a well-crafted and interesting spirit with potential. It reminded me a bit of Talisker every once in a while. There are certainly some coastal elements to be found in this peated Bakery Hill. Would love to nose and taste a 16 or 18 years old in the coming years!

Jan van den Ende                                                                    April 7, 2013