Unnamed Orkney (Highland Park?) 15 Year (Berry Bros and Rudd)

 

Almost every time you see "Unnamed Orkney" or "Orkney Islands" on a bottle of independently bottled single malt Scotch, it's Highland Park. I don't know why The Edrington Group (who also owns Macallan and Glenrothes) are so weird about the name, it's an open secret, but there it is. I can't remember a single instance of "Orkney" meaning Scapa. 

I guess, like many of the big corporate-owned distilleries, Highland Park just has a lot of off-profile casks to sell and they don't want their name associated with them. More fool them, because many/most/nearly all of the Highland Park offerings from independent bottlers are outright fantastic, sometime game-changingly so. 

I bought this 15-year almost-certainly Highland Park for myself as a gift for surviving a root canal. In fact, I bought it while half my face was still numb and I could barely talk to the sales associate at Berry Brothers and Rudd (shout out to Brian Oh, a personable and knowledgeable man to know if ever there was one; he made a post-root canal experience not just bearable but enjoyable). 

Fifteen years in ex-bourbon, almost no angel's share - bottled at a wild 63.5% ABV. Let's see how the Berry Brothers (and also Rudd) did with this mysteriously un-mysterious Orkney distillery: 

Nose: The neck pour is all beef broth (?!), heather, stewed fruit, herbs (scallions?!), young leather jackets, salt, "minerals," soft honey. A really unusual mixture of savory elements, both for Highland Park specifically and sherry-matured whisky more generally. 

Further drams soften that big savory punch significantly; but there's still a dense layer of peat smoke, far heavier than the typical Highland Park. 

With water and time, fruit emerges - citrus (lemon/lime) and sour tropical notes (pineapple) - alongside honey and more heather.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, oily.

Palate: The neck pour is hot, lots of alcohol in a big initial wave. Then surprisingly dry red wine, earthy honeycomb, more beef broth (almost like French onion soup), young leather, herbs, black pepper, and a striking note of black olives. 

With water and time it's quite a bit sweeter: after a BIG hit of smoke, there's lemon seltzer candy, baked apples, some light consomme and rare red meat or au jus, hints of olive, and hard pineapple candies. Also field flowers and baking spice towards the back end.   

Finish: Black pepper, honey, light roast beef jus, dry red wine, and black olives. The olive note stays fairly consistent and is really oddly nice when paired with the beef broth note and the heavy smoke.

Verdict: The bottle doesn't state much about the hogshead this spent 15 years in, and I wonder if it was a rechar. The olive note I get here often comes out in rechar or shaved/toasted/recharred casks. Either way, this is high impact, high flavor stuff. Really potent and full of flavor for the bold and brave - the sweet truly meets the savory here (not too mention the VERY high ABV). 

Still, if that's your cup of ... broth? ... you'll love this. Recommended.