I basically bought this bottle entirely on the strength of the previous revatted bottling of Highland Park that I obtained from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). That bottle was called "Dining by the Harbor" and was a fragrant, coastal, fruity, floral, softly smokey dram that I poured and poured and poured into my glass.
I am pretty sure this bottling comes from the same revatting. I'll let the official notes explain:
Imagine spreading a picnic blanket on slightly wet grass overlooking Kirkwall and Scapa Flow, the light breeze carrying the salty sea air intermingled with a wisp of peat smoke ascending from the pagoda roof nearby. We enjoyed cherry peach crisp with oatmeal cookie crumble and lightly smoked venison carpaccio. When we added a drop of water, we wandered down a seaside promenade full of enticing aromas - ice cream, marshmallows, caramel, jellybeans and crushed shells. To taste; sweet, viscous and so very delicate - hints of exotic wood smoke, rose petals and heather. 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.
Revattings can occur for any number of reasons, but usually it's to correct some kind of imbalance. In the case of "Dining by the Harbor," it absolutely worked. Tropical fruits mingled with a fragrant grassiness, brine mingled with honey and barley sugar...
Well, this bottle has an extra 13th year in the vatting cask, bottled at 61% ABV, and the official notes are promising: more grass, salt air, soft smoke, soft fruit (cherry peach crisp!), and the curious note of "venison carpaccio" (!). What on earth??
I am also hoping to encounter the ice cream, marshmallow, and crushed shells. Oily and coastal is my favorite profile from the SMWS, I think I've bought every bottle save one that's come up in my year in the Society. Nicknamed "By the Beautiful Sea," let's see how it shakes out:
Nose: Soft nose, a little shy. Salted sea air, gentle smoke, a little cherry note (like heering), chalk/shells. Very very light coastal influence - no big briny notes, but instead a gentle salty beachy aspect. Honeyed sweetness, but not that oozing dripping honey, but something more waxy, maybe like Manuka honey.
No alcohol tickle, even at 61%! Grassiness/malted barley/flower bouquet is predominant after the glass unwinds a bit. Buttery, as well. Reminds me a bit of an older Bruichladdich. Wonderful nose here, although it does take some time to really come through.
With a splash of water, some alcohol fumes emerge, but the core scent is mostly the same. Maybe a little more chalk/crushed shells.
Mouthfeel: Thinnish, but chewy nonetheless.
Palate: Ah, here is where all the alcohol is - it drinks incredibly hot, after such a bashful nose! More notes that remind me of Bruichladdich - mounds and mounds of freshly cut grass! Cooking with clarified butter. Surprisingly strong oak presence - oak and pepper flavors. Some very active casks here. Heather and nondescript flowers.
After that splash of water, as with the nose, it stays mostly the same. I do finally get a touch of that "game meat" flavor that the official notes reference - it's very much in the background though. Overall this remains very balanced with or without water.
Finish: Wispy smoke, a soft brine, and an avalanche of flowers. Here is the marshmallow - a big glowing soft sweetness. Some rose water. Some pepper and malted barley. More cut grass. A surprisingly complex finish. Satisfying.
Verdict: Anyone who has read this blog for long knows I am a huge fan of "grassy" flavors - that farm-fresh just-cut grass you find in Bruichladdich, some Tobermory, some Kilchoman, and many Irish whiskies. This Highland Park has that FOR DAYS. It's right up there with the grassiest whiskies I've had, and thus I am automatically a big fan.
I really think that Highland Park shines best in independent bottlings (usually as "unnamed Orkney distillery"). Their older pre-Viking bottlings of the 12, 15, and 18 year old were highly regarded, but nothing as rich as this. Their new marketing blitz (where fantasy Vikings, dragons, and so on are copied and pasted all over fancy Celtic knots and scrollwork, and everything is given a name like "Dragon's Icy Stare") leaves many out in the cold, yet their cask strength official bottling was really, really good.
I hope for more things like this - curious, rich, complex, fresh, full of life and flavor. It's a little annoying (but perhaps to be expected) that it takes well over a hundo plus tax and shipping to get your hands on a really high quality bottle of Highland Park these days - it's obvious the spirit is high quality and in the right hands it absolutely shines. This series of revattings from SMWS has been fantastic - two bottles now have been among my very favorites of the whole last year of drinking. Let's hope it continues. Highly recommended.
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