Distillery: Highland Park Distillery
Region: Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland
Aging: 12 Years
ABV: 43%
Proof: 86
Mash Bill: 100% Single Malt
Non-Chill Filtered: No
MSRP Price: $65
Appearance: Light Gold
Highland Park 12 Year Tasting Notes
Nose: Caramel, light smoke, oak, light fruits, orange zest, raisin, lemon
Palate: Sweet caramel, toasted oak, light smoke, earthy, slight metallic flavors like char or iron, cherry, raisin, light pepper spice
Finish: Medium finish with a lasting flavor of smoke and dark fruits with a lingering light pepper spice
Highland Park 12 Year an Approachable Whisky?
Highland Park 12 Year drinks pretty smoothly and offers some bold flavors.
It could be a good option if you’re looking to try a smokey Scotch that isn’t quite as smokey and peaty as Laphroaig and Ardbeg.
Is Highland Park 12 Year Complex?
Highland Park 12 Year doesn’t have a ton of layers of flavor for me.
I definitely get more of the caramel and oak flavors from 12 years of aging in the barrel, but it kind of overpowers the fruit and smoke flavors that I really enjoyed about the Highland Park Magnus and the less-aged Highland Park bottles.
What are Highland Park 12 Year’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Highland Park 12 Year takes the smokey and fruit flavors of a younger bottle and adds more oak and caramel elements from the barrel over 12 years.
Is Highland Park 12 Year a go-to whisky?
This bottle of Highland Park 12 Year is easy enough to drink that I could see it being a go-to whisky for some.
I personally enjoy the Highland Park Magnus more and at the $45 price tag, I would choose that one every day over the 12 Year.
Is Highland Park 12 Year priced accurately to its quality?
I think if Highland Park 12 Year was priced at $50, I would be more comfortable recommending this one.
If I’m going to spend $65 or so, I’d prefer to get myself a bottle of Ardbeg or Laphroaig.
Conclusion for Highland Park 12 Year
I can appreciate the additional aging which added more caramel and oak notes to your standard Highland Park flavor profile. But since I really enjoy the fruit and smoke notes of the less-aged bottles, the additional aging actually lowered my enjoyment of this one.
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