Highland Park Fire Edition Emerges As Complement To Popular Ice Edition

Popular Scotch whisky distillery Highland Park, given its location in the extreme northern part of Scotland, seems to enjoy playing on the former Viking influences of the area. Early this year we saw this play out in their Ice Edition bottling, so named for references to the mythical Ice Giants. Now its companion whisky has arrived as Highland Park Fire Edition, again in reference to the world of classic Norse mythology.

Whereas Ice Edition focused on the frosty tall guys, Highland Park Fire Edition pays its homage to the Fire Giants who battled the gods of the Vikings. To this end, the distillery notes that:

Surtr was an evil Fire Giant who ruled the Fire Realm.  He would sit at the edge of the kingdom, defending the land by holding a burning sword, which shone brighter and hotter than the sun.  The culmination of these tales is an apocalyptic battle between the Gods and the Giants. Surtr led the sons of Muspell across the bridge of Bifröst, burning everything in sight at Asgard (realm of Gods; Thor, Loki, Freya and Odin) and destroying the world at Ragnarök, heralded as ‘The doom of the Gods.’ The world perished in a blazing and burnishing ball of flames and from the ashes, a new earth was recreated.

In keeping with this theme, Highland Park has put the 15-year-old single malt into “bespoke crimson red colored glass [that] was specially commissioned to represent the fierce and molten world of the Fire Giants from Viking mythology.”

What I find particularly interesting about this whisky, beyond the mythology part of it, is the actual aging process. Highland Park is normally very well known for the use of ex-sherry casks for barreling, but for Fire Edition they did something of a first as they chose Scotch that rested in 100% refill Port wine seasoned casks.

“Maturing our distinctive whisky in 100% refill Port wine seasoned casks is a first for Highland Park and the result is a vibrant, 15 year old single malt with an ABV of 45.2%,” said Jason R. Craig, Highland’s Park global brand director, in a prepared statement. “Fire Edition has a slight reddish hue, (which is its natural color), intense aromas of ruby red fruits, light smoke and a long, lingering finish. However, it is still, unmistakably, Highland Park.”

This whisky, which will price for around $300, is a limited release with only 28,000 bottles being made available globally. All come with a black wooden cradle, black stopper and a booklet which tells the myths of the Fire Giants. Official tasting notes from Highland Park are below for your consideration.

• Color: 100% natural. Dark glowing amber. 
• Nose: Intense with stone fruit, vanilla and baking spice.
• Palate: Lightly smoked Christmas cake. Notes of candied citrus peel, dried plums and vanilla.
• Finish: Rich and lingering. Sweet vanilla ending with fruity spiciness.