Highland Park 18 Year Old

When I first started getting seriously into whisky about 10 years ago this was one of the 'must have' malts. It didn't disappoint.

Today it doesn't seem as good as it did back then. I honestly am not sure if this is because it isn't as good or because 10 years of drinking whisky has seen my palate change and develop. I suspect maybe its a little from column A and a little from Column B.

Also a little from Column C, I'll talk about Column C in a bit.

Nose

Heather, boiled sweets, plums, white wine vinegar, marzipan, straw

Palate

More savoury than I remember it. Quite sweet on the nose but less so on the palate. This whisky is all about the development. Some bitter marmalade, grassy notes, dried fruits (but not sherried), a slight hint of ginger biscuits, a solvent note.

Finish

Long, dry with bitter tanins.

So Column C.

Another reason why I don't rate this whisky as highly as I used to: I think the whisky world has moved on. Your serious scotch drinker has the likes of Ardbeg, Springbank, Glendronach, Arran et al. They have seen their popularity sky rocket in the last 10 years. They all bottle their whiskies at 46%+, Non chill filtered, natural colour.

If this whisky was made by Ardbeg it would be bottled at 50%+ NCF and it would be phenomenal.

It's just too underpowered and the world's moved on. We expect more from a premium whisky nowadays.

Still a decent whisky mind. Just not as good as it could be.

Find where to buy Highland Park whisky