Highland Park Tasting

Loki

Last night, I attended the Highland Park tasting event at Trinity Hall Irish Pub in Dallas.  These Trinity Hall events organized by Marius Donnelly continue to be great in every aspect: well organized, well attended, excellent selections and a lot of fun with people who are serious about whisky.  Here’s the lineup from last night:

  • The Black Grouse – $28
  • Highland Park 12 Year Old – $40
  • Highland Park 15 Year Old – $56
  • Highland Park 18 Year Old – $110
  • Highland Park 25 Year Old – $300
  • Highland Park 30 Year Old – $430
  • Highland Park Loki – $220
    • 15 Year Old Limited Edition from their Valhalla Collection

The best pour of the night was the 30 Year Old, followed by Loki and the 25 Year Old.  Also, worth noting is that the 12 Year Old is quite good for the price and both the 15 and 18 Year Old are not good at all… even The Black Grouse was more enjoyable than these.  As a bonus, I came away with a Highland Park ball cap and an unusual glass.

slant-2-oz.-shot-glass

 

Highland Park 15 Year Old 1992 – Rare Select (Montgomerie’s)

Islands Single Malt, 15 Years, 46% ABV, $104

I’m a day behind again. Here’s yesterday’s dram.

The nose is a soft note of seawater and smoke with caramel, grass and vanilla. The taste is very salty throughout with a lead-in of bitter orange, vanilla and ginger, followed up by white pepper, vanilla and more ginger. The finish is mildly leathery smoke and oak, with plenty of pepper. This is the saltiest whisky I’ve had and it seems to enhance the spicy aspects. The sweetness is mild, but it could use a bit more to provide balance. The smoke is most noticeable after the salt and pepper fade. Highland Park has come highly recommended, but I’m not too impressed with this one.

Master of Malt offers the following description:

A beautiful single cask Highland Park distilled on the 5th March 1992 and aged in cask 1233 before bottling by Montgomerie’s in June of 2007.