Highland Park 10 Year (SMWS 4.282 "A Bothy Amongst Mountain Heather") - Full Review

 

I can't resist Highland Park independent bottlings... or, for that matter, their official cask strength expression. They have a very specific, particular set of flavors - heather, soft smoke, soft fruit, minerals, salt/sea spray - that I quite care for. I had this as a quick sample at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June Outturn event at the Jack Rose Saloon - I liked it enough to buy a bottle - this is the full, extended review. 

Here are the official notes: 

French toast with caramelised bananas greeted us before we detected a very gentle fragrant smoke in the background. Surprisingly smoky on the palate neat, but well balanced by the sweetness now coming from scones served with lavender honey. With water, we walked through blooming purple heather waving in the breeze, spying in the distance the bothy where we would stay overnight. As we arrived, tired after the long day, we took a rest sipping this dram with creamy lightly smoked goats’ cheese rolled in ash with quince jelly. In 2017 we combined selected hogsheads before returning the single malt to a variety of different casks to develop further. This is one of those casks.

Since I've already sampled this one, I can say with some accuracy that this is pretty close to spot on. Good official notes. Bottled at 63.1%, let's just dive in:

Nose: The exact same as almost every Highland Park independent bottling: sweet malt, caramel, heather, light smoke. Bananas Foster  is the notable addition here: banana, rum, and brown sugar. 

With water: Adds pineapple to the mix. A fairly shy but still pleasant aroma. 

Mouthfeel: Thin but coats the mouth adequately. 

Palate: MUCH smokier than normal Highland Park. Heavily smoky! Yet without the usual accompanying peat elements. Sweet flowers - lavender sounds about right - and the expected heather. Salt, minerals, chalk. Some bleu cheese. Smoke is both under and over all the other notes. 

With water: Smoke, chalk, anchovies, sea salt, pineapple and mango, lime, more lime, and flowers. Better with water. 

Finish: Smoke, chalk, charred pineapple, a rather brief finish except for the smoke/ash note, which continues for a long time.  

Verdict: This is a little bit off the beaten path for Highland Park, but still resonant with the house style. Quite nice. The banana/pineapple/mango note combined with the heavy smoke is a very nice touch. Recommended for any HP fans who hate vikings.