Review // Highland Park Cask Strength Release No.1

It’s 5 in the evening, the first of December. The first day of the last month of a rather ‘challenging’ year. So much has happened these last few months. I’m about done with this year, in all honesty. That’s why I’m going to focus on only good things for the next month. I’ll be posting daily on social media, and I’ll be publishing plenty of articles on the blog. The first expression that has the honor to be featured, is Highland Park’s Cask Strength Release No.1. If you wanted to have a proper cask strength whisky that is complex but not ‘burning’ your palate, they’ve got you covered. Enjoy!

Text by Mickaël Van Nieuwenhove
Photography is © Highland Park and © Mickaël Van Nieuwenhove

The Only New Highland Park in 2020(?)

Thinking back, I must say that everything had been rather quiet at the Highland Park marketing department. It seemed that in 2020, they were taking things slow after 2019’s plethora of limited releases and special editions. I think that was a good idea, as the variety of expressions that were readily available were simply moving to close to each other in tasting profile. I reviewed some of the releases on the blog last year (Twisted Tattoo and Triskelion), and I genuinely enjoyed them. But then everything got quiet.

At the International Whisky Festival in Ghent at the beginning of this year, there wasn’t really anything new to taste. Bummer. And then the whole C-thing happened, and I wondered if there’d be any new Highland Park to enjoy. But then I saw a teaser on Instagram, a new addition to the core range! And man, what an addition! A cask strength Highland Park, the first of a series of yearly releases. Boy oh boy oh boy.

This first release has been bottled at cask strength, which means that it was not ‘cut’ or diluted with water before bottling. 63.3% ABV, not something that you simply ignore of brush off, if you think about it. The distillate measured 69.8% ABV when it went into the casks. Other than that, no chill-filtration, no added color. Simply a damn fine whisky that was matured in mostly sherry seasoned American oak casks, then hand-selected by Master Whisky Maker Gordon Motion. I have reason to believe that the whisky itself is ‘around 12 years old’.

The volume for this whisky release was about 132 casks in total, with a similar volume for Release No.2 next year. The aim is to offer a whisky that is ‘part of the core range, and not a limited edition’. I think it’ll turn into a collector’s item pretty soon, as every batch will be different. Perhaps I’ll reserve my bottle for next year as well.

Tasting Notes

I am greeted with a blend of buttery biscuits and peat in the nose. If you are a bit sceptic, let me tell you it absolutely smells delicious! Additionally, there’s honey and vanilla, staple scents for Highland Park releases. There’s also some lovely buttery toffee in there. Very creamy too. Right at the back, a sharper note. That cask strength has to show up at one point!

By the way, did you know that the peat at Orkney is very distinct and unique? Because of the human activity, combined with a deterioration of the climate, the Orkney islands became largely treeless by 3,500 BC. That means: peat largely void of any woodland materials. Instead, the peat is mostly influenced by heather and grass fields. More information here.

On the palate, sweet notes with some subtle smoke at first, and a warming feeling as a follow up. This trickles down smoothly. The same warm late-summer honey, followed by a bit of toffee again, with a little drier element right at the end. There’s a little bit of spice on the tip of your tongue too. It’s nice and balanced, and it offers something ‘to chew on’. I get why this is called “harmonized”! The finish is long and drawn-out, sticking on your palate for quite a while, and slowly dissipating. Yeah, this is an evening near the hearth all right. Many a conversation can be had with this on your side table. Could this be my new ‘classic Highland Park’?

The texture of this expression is nice and fatty, oily as well. There is no ‘raging fire’, even though the ABV is 63.3%. I’d rather describe this as a ‘smoldering’ Highland Park. There’s a distinct ‘burn’, but it is enjoyable, like crawling close to an open fire when all around you temperatures are dropping rapidly. This will keep you warm all right. I can imagine this release doing well around the campfires I’ll be attending in 2021!