Highland Park 15 Years Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland-Island-Orkney

Brand: Highland Park

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 15 Years

ABV:  40 % (UK Bottling)

Colour: Golden

Nose: Thick Sweet Sherry is accompanied by light Island Peat/Smoke, lots of Citrus, Straw/Grass, Oak, Vanilla, Mineral tones, Heather, Malt, Cocoa Powder, Honey, Nuts (Nutella), Brown Sugar, Buttered Toast and hints of Leather, Mint and Dark Chocolate. Some Alcohol is present as well. Less balanced than the 12 years and with a tad more Smoke. Still, not bad.

Palate: Slightly Watery. Deserves a higher ABV. More Smoke here than I would have expected after the Nose. Again, loads of Citrus as well as Toffee, Spices, Malt, Oak, Vanilla, Honey, Heather and light Licorice.

Finish: Quite Dry with Citrus, Toffee, Pepper, light Peat/Smoke, slightly Bitter Oak, Salted Almonds, light Licorice and a hint of Banana. The pleasant light Smoke stays in your mouth for quite a while!

I added a bit of Water but the Nose does not change a whole lot. Maybe a bit Sweeter. Palate and Finish just get watered down. I know there are many people that prefer to add a bit of Water to their Whisky and that's fine of course. But with the odd exception, I prefer mine neat. 

Rating: 85.5

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

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 matures its 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 15 years was introduced in 2003 and is different from the other Standard Distillery Bottlings in the sense that it matured predominantly in American Oak Ex-Sherry Casks while Spanish Oak Ex-Sherry Casks are mainly used for the other expressions. The distillery informs that for the 15 Years 30% First Refill and 70% Refill Ex-Sherry Casks are used. The HP 15 costs on average 75 US Dollars. The US Bottling has a more adequate ABV of 43%.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: I think the HP 15 is okay although it's not terribly complex and suffers a bit from the low ABV. I prefer the more balanced Nose of the 12 Years but Palate and Finish are fine and the 15 Years is utterly drinkable. If you like to drink Johnnie Walker Black on the rocks, this HP might be a good way to start your journey into the fascinating world of Single Malts. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                   June 15, 2013

Tullibardine 228 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland (Central)

Brand: Tullibardine

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 43 %

Colour: Reddish Gold (Ruby)

Nose: Plain German Butter Biscuits (Butterkekse), Red Grape Juice, Malt, Honey, Red Fruit, Oak, Vanilla and light Spices. It's still a rather young Whisky and Alcohol, Wood and Spirit are not (yet) fully integrated. 

Palate: Red Fruit (Berries), Malt, Apple Pie with Nuts and Vanilla Sauce,  Oak, Honey, Toffee, Pepper and Woodspice.

Finish: Middle-Long and quite dry with Oak, Vanilla, Pepper, Red Fruit, Malt and a hint of Apricot Marmalade towards the end

With a bit of Water the Red Wine/Red Grape Juice Notes on the Nose become stronger. The Alcohol retreats of course and that improves the Balance. Palate and Finish don't benefit from Water however. When you do add some water though, be careful to add just a few drops at a time.

Rating: 83.5

Nose: 21 - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: The 228 is a Tullibardine Distillery Bottling. I would guess it matured for 5-7 years in Ex-Bourbon Casks. Before being bottled in 2013, it was finished for an additional 12 months in a 228-litre Red Burgundy Wine Cask from Chateau de Chassagne Montrachet. It costs around 55 US Dollars.

The Tullibardine Distillery was founded in 1949 and is located in Blackford (Perthshire) on the site of a former Brewery. In 1995, Tullibardine was mothballed by Whyte & Mackay, the owners at that time. Production was resumed in 2003 when the distillery was sold to Tullibardine Distillery Ltd. In 2011, the French Maison Michel Picard from Chassagne Montrachet became the new owner.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: You will know by now that I'm not much of a fan of Red Wine Finishing. Let Wine be Wine and Whisky be Whisky! In this case I have the feeling that the Chassagne Montrachet masks some of the imperfections of the relatively young Tullibardine Spirit. Still, this Single Malt is quite drinkable and I really enjoyed the Butterkeks note, especially when I first opened the sample. So if you are a fan of Red Wine Finished Whisky you could give this one a try as it's reasonably priced.

Jan van den Ende                                                                  June 12, 2013

MacLeod's Lowland 8 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: MacLeod's

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Lowland

Age: 8 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Pale Gold, Straw

Nose: An initial waft of Sherry passes relatively quickly and is followed by Straw, Pencils, Green Oak, Biscuits, Alcohol, a hint of Sulphur and a bit of Citrus. Slightly Metallic. Not much going on I'm afraid.

Palate: Quite Thin with Malt, Hay, Orange, Oak and light Spices. 

Finish: Bitter-Sweet with Sugar, Malt, Oak, light Spices and Orange Marmalade.

I added a few drops of water and the Nose basically disappears. Palate and Finish gain some Herbs and very light Licorice. It really doesn't matter a lot!

Rating: 74.5

Nose: 18.5 – Taste: 19 – Finish: 18.5 – Overall: 18.5 

General Remarks: This Lowland Single Malt was produced and bottled by Ian MacLeod Distillers Ltd, an Independent Bottler established in 1933 and a.o. owner of the Glengoyne Distillery and various Blends such as Isle of Skye and Smokehead. Many people will know their Chieftain's range as well. The Lowland is part of a small collection known as MacLeod's Scotch Whisky Trail that also includes a Single Malt from Speyside, Highland, Island and Islay as well as the before mentioned Isle of Skye Blend. A full bottle of the Lowland costs around 40 US Dollars but the collection has been discontinued apparently although a Miniature Gift Set is still widely available. (See Picture Below)

Drinking Experience Neat: Below Average

Conclusion: Quite a disappointment really. There are not many Lowland Distilleries left so this is probably either Auchentoshan or Glenkinchie, matured in - or finished in Ex-Sherry Casks. Light Nose, Weak Palate and Short and Indifferent Finish. Let's forget about this one shall we!

Jan van den Ende                                                                 June 10, 2013