This blog starts with a bit of a confession. When I first started with whiskey, I thought that Highland Park was a highland scotch distillery. I remember a conversation with a whiskey loving colleague a years back. I was new to scotch, and knew just enough to get myself into trouble with a real whiskey drinker when this conversation happened. The conversation lead to me declaring that I was a lover of Highland scotch. Of course the natural next question from my colleague was ‘What are some of your favourites?’. I boasted proudly that Highland Park was up there as one of mine, causing his eye to twitch and quietly tell me that Highland Park, although also one of his favourites was certainly not a Highland scotch.
Highland Park 12 Year – Viking Honour – 43% ABV
After quickly summing up the conversation, I hurried back to the internet and learned that indeed this scotch, a bright sweet honey soaked expression (with just a little smoke) was definitely not a Highland Scotch, although in my own defence, does have the world Highland in the name and some sweet notes that partly define Highland scotches. In order to find its origin, you have to look up, waaaay up north to a little set of islands off the north coast called the Orkney islands. The Highland Park distillery is certainly the most well known of a few really great scotch makers on this island chain.
The first thing you notice about this scotch is its dark, mysterious packaging and bottle design. It intrigued me before I even opened the bottle. If seems far away, ancient, maybe even a little enchanting.
When you first open it, you do get a bunch of different things happening all at once, none of them dominant, but all of them present. Smoke, sweet, salt, fruity. The word that comes to my mind immediately is complex. How can you get all those different smells and tastes all at once, none of them overpowering the other, but all there.
It’s also rich. Not overly expensive, but certainly not the end of the aisle sort of dram either. I like to serve this one when I have friends over. It’s easy to impress with this dram in the glass. It’s warm, refined and balanced. I loved doing this highland park viking honor review.
The next time you have a special event, or have someone coming over that you want to impress, reach for a Highland Park 12 Year – Viking Honour and take a trip to this mysterious far away place.