Highland Park 12 Year (Pre-Viking)

 

Many thanks to Rob Martin for this blast from the past: a sample of Highland Park 12 Year from before their infamous 2017 "Viking" makeover. 

Here is a list of the current offerings from post-Viking Highland Park:

• Viking Scars
• Viking Honour
• Viking Heart
• Viking Pride
• Spirit of the Bear
• Loyalty of the Wolf
• Wings of the Eagle
• Dragon Legend
• Valkyrie
• Valknut
• Valfather
• Twisted Tattoo (!)
• Triskelion
• Full Volume
• The Dark
• The Light
• Fire Edition
• Ice Edition
• Viking Tribe

And so on. What in hell!?!? It's beyond ridiculous. It is probably the most embarrassing marketing in the whisky scene (worse even than Ardbeg's litany of over-the-top committee bottlings, or the Diageo/Game of Thrones pairings). 

Worse still, many reviewers also think that the quality of the spirit and/or casks has gone downhill a bit as well. So these pre-makeover bottles are increasingly sought after and sold at auction; happily, there is plenty of Highland Park bottled independently. Whew.

This is matured 12 years in some mysterious combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. No one seems quite entirely sure, and Highland Park is opaque. Bottled at 43% ABV for the American market (only 40% for the UK market, strangely), and probably filtered and colored both. Let's see how the Orkneys acquit themselves pre-2017: 

Nose: Quite a pleasant aroma of sherry, light smoke and peat, a distinctly green/herbal quality, and coastal salinity. Specifically, I get nuts (almonds, hazelnuts), rock salt, seaweed, vanilla, heather/field flowers, smoke, sweet peat, and sour citrus. 

Mouthfeel: Nice mouthfeel - thicker, viscous, chewy. 

Palate: A bit thinner than the nose: smoke, peat, orchard fruit, herbs and greens, salt. Tasty, but the development is a little too fast for my preference - it disappears so quickly on the tongue! Plus, almost all sherry influence present on the nose is totally absent on the palate. Only a sort of briny almond-y note survives, and only barely. 

Finish: Too brief! Smoke, oak, herbs, apple sauce... but gone in a flash. I blame the 43% ABV. 

Verdict: Some very nice flavors here, and a surprisingly rich nose, but undercut by a somewhat underwhelming finish that pulls the rug out from under you. Still, it's obvious how Highland Park gathered such a following: this is very tasty stuff, and full of flavor.