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Whisky Review: Highland Park 21-Year-Old

We review Highland Park 21-Year-Old, a deliciously balanced single malt from the northernmost distillery in Scotland.

OVERALL RATING

  • Margarett Waterbury is a whiskey enthusiast and industry expert.
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Tasting Notes

About:

Appearance:
Tarnished, mellow gold
Nose:
At first, this is all dusky masculinity: leather, tobacco leaf, flamed orange peel, sherry, a subtle wisp of mechanical smoke. But then, near the end, an amazing freshness emerges, almost juicy, like a bowl of freshly sliced fruit salad eaten in an old leather armchair: orange slices, banana, ripe pear, grilled pineapple, even a hint of guava.
Palate:
Again, there’s two parts to this whisky, although they dance around one another in perfect balance: First, a rich, mature, leather-and-cigars kind of flavor, with lots of dark chocolate and spice. Behind it, there’s a sweet, quenching fruitiness: tropical fruits poached in honey syrup, more oranges, unfiltered cider, dried apple rings, soft toffee. The finish, long and pleasant, is like snapping into a bar of dark chocolate. A little water amplifies the sweetness at the expense of complexity; I prefer it undiluted. Final Thoughts & Score/Buy A Bottle: Score: 94/100 Yum! This is very, very tasty, and I’m secretly delighted that Highland Park didn’t jam it into a ridiculous iceberg-shaped bottle that takes up half the shelf. Wonderfully balanced and complex, if you’re traveling to the U.K. and see Highland Park 21-Year-Old for sale, don’t think twice—but maybe buy two.
Finish:
Comments:

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Margarett Waterbury

Margarett Waterbury is the author of "Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland's Whiskies" and a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the beverage industry. Her work has graced the pages of numerous publications, including Whisky Advocate, Food and Wine, Spirited Magazine, Artisan Spirit, Edible Seattle, Sip Northwest, Civil Eats, Travel Oregon, and many others. She also boasts editorial experience as the former managing editor of Edible Portland and as a co-founder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash. In recognition of her talent, Margarett received the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award in 2017 and was awarded fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019.

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