This bottle sat on the shelf long before Highland Park drew its current look. The label is the old one, the glass has the old shape, and inside sits a malt that went into wood a quarter of a century earlier. The wind off the North Atlantic had plenty of time to do its work.
The expert's description
Highland Park 25 Year Old Single Orkney Malt Scotch Whisky 48.1% is a Single Orkney Malt Scotch Whisky matured for 25 years in oak casks and bottled without chill filtration at 48.1%.
This release carries the older bottle design used before the distillery's most recent redesign of the range. Label, bottle shape and typeface belong to a generation many collectors recognise from their own cabinet, and that design is no longer produced. Highland Park's 25 Year Old has also been bottled at several strengths over the years, and this particular edition sits at 48.1%.
Highland Park distils at Kirkwall on Orkney and has done so since 1798. It is one of the very few Scottish distilleries still turning part of its own malt by hand on its own malting floors, and the house matures mainly in sherry-seasoned oak. That combination is why a Highland Park rarely tastes only of smoke or only of sherry, but of both at once.
Twenty-five years shifts the balance between the two. The peat smoke loses its edge and turns earthy, the dark sherry fruit moves forward, and the wood hands over tannin and spice at a pace only Orkney's cool climate allows. Liquid disappears every year, and what remains is denser and softer than the younger expressions. Without chill filtration it keeps its full weight on the tongue.
Tasting notes
Nose
Toasted malt and dried fruit lead, figs and dates, then orange peel and a hint of old leather. The peat lies deep and quiet underneath and never pushes forward.
Palate
Full and rounded. Caramel and dark sherry sweetness open, followed by cocoa, tobacco leaf and dry oak spice. The smoke is warm and settled, more glowing peat than open fire.
Finish
Long and soft. The sweetness holds for a good while, and a dry wisp of smoke closes it out alongside a trace of salt.
Specifications
Name: Highland Park 25 Year Old Single Orkney Malt Scotch Whisky 48.1%
Distillery: Highland Park
Region/Country: Orkney, Scotland
Type: Single Orkney Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 25 years
ABV: 48.1%
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Edition: Older bottle design before the latest redesign
EAN no.: 5010314067106
Flavour profile
Smoky · Sherry-matured · Rich · Mature · Spiced
Investment potential
High. Twenty-five years of maturation is rare on its own, and this version of the bottle is no longer made. Older presentations of Highland Park's long-aged releases thin out year by year, and the distillery sits among the names collectors follow most closely.
Did you know?
Highland Park traces its story back to Magnus Eunson, a church officer by day and a smuggler by night. The tale goes that he kept his casks under the pulpit, where the excisemen were unlikely to look.
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