Highland Park 12 Year Old Cask Strength Single Cask Hogshead Peated Single Malt Whisky 700ml

Found in the windswept Orkney Islands on the edge of the Arctic Circle Highland Park is the northernmost distillery in Scotland. And one of our favourites.

They are an industrious mob with peat still cut by hand at the nearby Hobbister Moor. The low lying heather that covers the island produces an aromatic peat unlike anything else we have ever tried.

Highland Park uses 20% peated barley in its mash and is one of the few remaining distilleries that do their own floor maltings, turning the grain by hand every eight hours or so. This lighter, fragrant peat often prompts the question ‘are you sure this is peated?’

This cask is no exception. It is fruit driven and sweeter than the first Highland Park cask that we shared last year (really sorry if you missed out on that little ripper).

If we had two words to describe this second edition it would be ‘cheese platter’. The nose is fruity with pickled cherry, summer berries and raisins accompanied by dry crackers. The liquid is thick and luscious on the palate and drinks remarkably smoothly at cask strength. Soft cheese and quince paste can be found along with smoked meat and dried stone fruits. The finish is medium in length and retains a slightly fruity sweetness along with the earthiness of a milder blue.

Finishing a meal with lingering chat over a cheese platter is one of life’s great pleasures. The good folk at Highland Park have had the good sense to bottle it for us all to enjoy.