This is part of a "distillery deep dive" in Highland Park from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), a trio of 13 year bottles that all come from the same revatting experiment as two lovely previous bottles I had from SMWS: "Dining by the Harbour" and "By the Beautiful Sea."
I have consistently found that independently bottled Highland Park (often called "Orkney Distillery" or "Unnamed Orkney" on independent bottle labels) is where the spirit really shines, divorced from the marketing juggernaut that continues to amuse and frustrate the scotch-loving public with watered down bottles and overripe names.
I almost wish they would go way over the top with the whole effort. Instead of "Viking Honor" and "Viking Scars" and "Viking Heart" and "Loyalty of the Wolf" and "Spirit of the Bear" etc etc etc (ugh), they should get creative with the naming. "Untamable Fury of the Malmsteen" ... "The Angriest Rooster" ... "A Barbarian, Reading a Book" ... "Dragons Dreaming of Scary Children" and so on. I would be 1000% more likely to actually buy a bottle if they had some humor or personality. Instead, I continue to boycott the ridiculous expressions, with the sole exception of the surprisingly good Cask Strength bottles, which really deserve more attention. I look forward to reviewing the Batch No. 2 very soon.
Anyway, since I'm more or less doing a horizontal review of three 13 year bottles that all spent 9 years together before diverging paths for four year first-fill bourbon finishes, I'll just go in the order that they were bottled by SMWS. This is 4.298, "I See Seashore," which I think is a pun on "Icy Seashore" (?). Part of the Oily and Coastal flavor profile at SMWS, bottled at 60.2% ABV. Here are the official tasting notes:
Alluring aromas combined the light salt of sea air with the delicate floral notes of heather and jasmine tea. A subtle medicinal character stood aside while dried seaweed and pink pickled ginger complimented smoked oysters, fresh seafood and tangy sea buckthorn. On the tongue a wave of wasabi spice washed over sticky honey, quince jelly and lemon meringue pie while dried herbs and toasted chestnuts joined lapsang souchong tea. Water released more smoky characters from beach bonfires, singed coconut and smoked salmon. Sweet and creamy vanilla then merged with oily brazil nuts before we returned to dried seaweed, sushi and dark soya sauce. 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.
Well, this is very close to the "By the Beautiful Sea" bottle (4.278) that I enjoyed. I particularly like the Highland Park style of peat, which is soft, fragrant, floral, and earthy. None of the medicinal hardness of Laphroaig or Ardbeg and so forth.
I am particularly hoping that I encounter the jasmine tea, the ginger, and the wasabi. Let's see how this particular bourbon barrel imparted its personality on the spirit:
Nose: This is incredibly reminiscent of "By the Beautiful Sea," the previous 13 year revatted bottle of Highland Park I had from SMWS: soft heather and moss, sweet honey and salty brine, both softly intertwined. A delicate nose. There is a very subtle underpinning of iodine here, but you really have to inhale deeply to pick it up. Oysters in vinegar; sauteed shallots; hints of fragrant floral smoke.
With a little water, the smoky fragrance really pushes to the fore. The tasting notes on this one are very accurate. Indeed: it may be the power of suggestion, but I definitely get singed coconut.
Mouthfeel: Oily, chewy, on the thinner side.
Palate: Quite a nice delivery: some peppery alcohol (or, possibly wasabi) evaporates and leaves behind a honeyed residue that has salted orange and lemon around the fringes. It's also a bit nutty - not so much chestnuts as in the official tasting notes, but something like tasted cashews. Oily.
With a little water, the oysters are a little more pronounced, and this also gets sweeter. Quite a bit of honey and something like briny melon come out. Very very nice with water: rich, coastal, oily, sweet, salty. Almost a cucumber note in there...
Finish: Smoked black tea leaves with fresh honey all across the finish, which is a nice way to end the dram. Well integrated.
Verdict: This bottle might as well be the twin of "By the Beautiful Sea" (SMWS 4.78), they are so incredibly similar. I honestly could not tell these apart in a small blind tasting I did. Very coherent distillate (sweet, salty, smoky, fragrant) is married to rock solid first fill bourbon barrels that give it some body and some push, but without any undesirable traits. A fine whisky, and highly recommended.
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