The lovely Adam at The Whisky Pilgrim was really generous a few months back and offered to send a dram of this, pretty exclusive, whisky in exchange for a little story about our first whisky experiences. I jumped at the chance, and soon after, this intriguing dram arrived at my door.
Cost: £250+
Appearance: Rich amber and caramelised sugar.
Aroma: Leather, oak and parsnips(!), with a gentle wisp of smoke and orange peel.
Taste: The Alcohol hit in this dram is HUGE! I hadn’t realised it was 64% by volume on first taste, so that explains the punch in the face, but this is definitely an instance where the alcohol features heavily on the palate. Behind this lies hints of wine and oats, followed by a savoury salt and slight bitterness that’s finished off with a smokey charr on the tongue. Some water doesn’t open up the taste much, but it did detract from the mouthfeel, so I preferred it without.
Mouthfeel: With a good swig, there’s a full and oily coating on the tongue after the alcohol and charr has dissipated. Just be careful not to breath through your nose too heavily!
Overall: I am extremely thankful to be privileged enough to have had the chance to taste this, so thanks again The Whisky Pilgrim! At the time, I believe Adam paid £70 for this bottle, and at that price, it would be a very interesting addition to any collection. It’s a beast in terms of its alcohol content, and it carries some very interesting flavours that I felt set it apart from the Highland Park 12 and 18 that I have sampled many times.
Unfortunately, this is no longer available at this price as there were only 582 bottles ever of this release, meaning it has succumbed to the pressures of exclusivity, and as such is over 3 times that price now per bottle. At £250+ now, I would probably recommend buying 3 Highland Park 18 bottles instead, as the differences are too subtle to warrant the hike in price. That said, I did really enjoy the dram and have chalked it up to another whisky experience that I will likely never have again…thanks again Adam 🙂
Real Dram Factor: 7.2
Source: Sample from The Whisky Pilgrim
More Information: Highland Park Distillery
Buy Online: Not Likely. You will need to search shops in a vain hope of finding it, or save a large amount of money and hunt through the auction sites.
RealDramRob