Highland Park 18 yo Scotch

Highland Park 18 yo, Orkney Island (Highland) Scotch, 750ml, 86 proof, modified dumpy bottle, $60-70



Michael Jackson the great scotch reviewer, calls the 18 yo version of Highland Park "The greatest all-rounder in the world of malt whiskey." Not much to argue about there. Highland park is the most northern of all Scotlands distilleries and combines the best elements of Island and Highland malts.

The evening started out well and just got better. The wife and I went to Coombs Tavern in York for some of their locally famous Prime Rib. Very good at a reasonable price. That 2lb slab of meat was cooked a perfect medium rare and the potato was as hot as I've ever had. As we were finishing up I noticed that the guys across the aisle all fired up some cigars. Seeing that I had a Gurkha 8 year aged with me we struck up a conversation. It turns out that it was the owner, manager and tobacconist of Hain,s Pipe shop, the 8th oldest continiously operating tobacco shop in the country. Ferdinand (the owner) had a Cuban torpedo with an ungodly long name that I forgot while the others had a Short Story and a BTL. Nice people, I'll have to make the drive sometime to their shop. If anyone is passing the York, PA area their address is:

Hain's Pipe Shop
225 South George St
York, PA. 17403
717.843.2237

Anyway, back to the scotch. I finished my Gurkha on the drive home and then poured a nice dollop of Highland Park into my glass while I settled in to write this review. Over the years I've gone through many bottles of Highland Park and could have written this from memory but having it in hand is always better.

The color is a dark amber while the nosing is somewhat a mixture of peat, heather and a bit of honey sweetness. It has a medium body and is fairly smooth. The taste is excellent, very well-balanced with a smooth richness that is most satisfying. Some spice, heather and honey in the mix give a drink that is first spicy and then sweet with a finish that lasts and lasts. This is definately one that you will need to add to your collection. A must have. :love:

Starting to sound like a broken record here but another outstanding review :thumbs: I've been looking to add this bottle to my collection.

Isn't an 18 year old a little too old for Michael Jackson??

I was waiting for something like that Fast :0

It was just too easy....I couldn't resist ???

All your reviews are top notch. You guys will have to prepare yourself's for the Whitside family scotch reviews. They are a little more unorthadox then AVB's

Just found this!

Just found this!

And ???

sack said:

Just found this!

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Ahh, I see what you did. Yes, for $50 it is well worth it. It's on sale here for $65 at the moment.

I just picked up a bottle of this and it's not going to last long. Good thing I have a bottle of Glenlivet 18 year to get in the way. :whistling:

AVB, have you seen/tried the Glenlivet Nadurra 16 year?

Besides being cask strength, I think it is pretty close to the taste of the 18, especially if you cut it back with some water. Given the choice I'd rather have a cask strength 18

I drink my straight and it's different then the 18 IMHO. Although...it won't last to long either LOL.

I'll be looking forward to your review.

Lopaka said:

I drink my straight and it's different then the 18 IMHO. Although...it won't last to long either LOL.

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Over the years this has become one of my favorites. In addtion to the flavors you decribe I taste toffee along with a wonderful amount of smokiness. The way you describe spice at first followed by sweetness is spot on.

I think this is better than their 25 year old. I'm glad you talked me out of buying a bottle last year. :thumbs:

sigar_zealot said:

Over the years this has become one of my favorites. In addtion to the flavors you decribe I taste toffee along with a wonderful amount of smokiness. The way you describe spice at first followed by sweetness is spot on.

I think this is better than their 25 year old. I'm glad you talked me out of buying a bottle last year. :thumbs:

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I had this and the rest of the line at a tasting a year or so ago. I actually thought the 25 year old was fantastic and a step above this one. The 30 year wasn't even as good as the 25 either IMHO.

I've never had the 25 or the 30 but of those I've tried, this is the jewel of the HP line, IMHO.

I'm not huge on scotch but want to be. I am slowly acquiring my taste.

The question arises of which 30 year old HP?

GregSVT said:

I had this and the rest of the line at a tasting a year or so ago. I actually thought the 25 year old was fantastic and a step above this one. The 30 year wasn't even as good as the 25 either IMHO.

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I had the 25 in Las Vegas last month and wasn't blown away. I usually won't add water to whisky in this price range, but couldn't enjoy this one without doing so. The fact that I was losing at the tables might have soured my opinion, although usually that isn't the case.

I've had the 25 one other time in Tucson and seemed to like it well enough to consider buying a bottle. :blush:
I'll have to revisit that bottle at the Mirage in a month or 2.