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Highland Park Spirit of the Bear Review

Expecting bold heathery smoke from Highland Park’s Spirit of the Bear? This travel exclusive offers creamy sweetness and gentle peat - though it may not satisfy those seeking greater intensity.

OVERALL RATING

6
$75
  • Genevieve is a South African whisky enthusiast with a PhD in Philosophy and founder of Kenton on Whisky, a coastal tasting venture.
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Tasting Notes

About:

The founder of Highland Park, Magnus Eunson, was a butcher and a church officer. He was also a notorious part-time whisky smuggler and illicit distiller. Legend has it he would hide barrels of whisky from excisemen under the pulpit.

Situated on the remote Orkney Islands, Highland Park is currently one of the northernmost distilleries in Scotland (just half a mile north of Scapa distillery, which is also located on the Orkney Islands).

I’m not sure that Highland Park can actually lay claim to the title of northernmost whisky distillery anymore, as a distillery on the Shetland Islands (which lie about 50 miles to the north-east of Orkney), known primarily for producing gin, is now also beginning to try their hand at making some whisky.

One of the distinctive hallmarks of whisky from Highland Park one is most likely to hear about is their use of local peat. Not all peat tastes the same. The specific smoky flavour you get from peat can vary by region, depending on the vegetation in the area the peat is harvested from.

Peat from Islay, for example, is likely to come into contact with water and contain some decaying seaweed and mosses. This can produce a more maritime or medicinal smoky flavour. Peat from Orkney is said to be rich in heather, which gives the whiskies from Highland Park a more fragrant, floral-tinged smokiness.

“Spirit of the Bear” was part of the 2018 Travel Exclusive Collection from Highland Park. It’s a no-age-statement whisky. Two other whiskies featured in this collection are a 14-year-old “Loyalty of the Wolf”, and a 16-year-old “Wings of the Eagle” – all named for animals that have held a symbolic status for the Vikings.

And Highland Park often incorporates Norse mythology into its whiskies as a reference to the Orkney Islands’ Viking heritage. In fact, the word berserk comes from the old Norse “berserkr”, and means something like bear shirt or bear armour. Some have suggested that berserkers – warriors who fought with an imposing frenzied fury in battle – wore the skins of bears and believed that they drew their power from the bear. The Spirit of the Bear pays homage to these myths and legends.

A more recent Travel Exclusive Collection has since been released. This collection is said to be inspired by the natural environment and climate of Orkney itself, and features a 14-year-old “Land of Orkney”, a 16-year-old “Sea of Orkney”, and an 18-year-old “Sky of Orkney”. You should be able to find them on your travels in duty-free stores around the world.

If you’re lucky, a few bottles of these more recent releases might somehow find their way into some local markets too. In spite of being a travel exclusive, some bottles of “Spirit of the Bear” managed to make their way into a few boutique whisky stores in my area.

A few bottles of Highland Park’s Spirit of the Bear still seem to be available in my neck of the woods for around $63, so if one really wanted to track a bottle down, I’m sure there are still a few knocking about.

It’s bottled at 40% ABV, is natural in colour, and sold in 1 litre bottles.
Appearance:
Rich amber
Nose:
Quite fruity. Notes of green melons, pineapples and blueberries. Lashings of creamy vanilla ice cream. Very mild peat. There’s a distinctive spicy and peppery prickle in the background.
Palate:
Soft and buttery in texture. More vanilla ice cream and a little burnt caramel, perhaps crème brulé. There’s a faintly smoky flavour that shifted into something resembling more of a slightly bitter dark chocolate note than anything distinctively smoky. A hint of pepper.
Finish:
A slightly drying finish. I found there was a lingering floral, almost-synthetic blackcurrant note that was not particularly to my liking.
Comments:
I personally found this whisky to be a little bit of a letdown. I’m not entirely sure why this was the case, so I’m happy to accept that this may simply be the result of the whisky not meeting some of my pre-conceived expectations.

I ended up feeling just a little underwhelmed every time I sipped on this whisky. It’s not that it was bad, but I would have preferred (and I suppose I expected) the peaty flavours to be a little more pronounced. Additionally, the floral or blackcurrant note I detected didn’t appeal to me and was difficult to overlook.

That said, there are positives about this whisky. The vanilla creaminess and texture are enjoyable, and it offers some interesting aromas and flavors.

While I wouldn’t actively seek it out, I also wouldn’t turn down a glass if offered – it’s just that it wouldn’t be my first choice.

I recall really enjoying Highland Park’s Valkyrie a couple of years ago – another non-age statement release that was similarly priced – which left a far better impression.

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.

Genevieve Jacot-Guillarmod

Genevieve is a whisky enthusiast from South Africa with a PhD in Philosophy, so she enjoys both drinking and thinking about whisky. She loves tasting new whiskies whenever she gets the chance - so much so that a few years ago she set up a small whisky tasting business, "Kenton on Whisky", in the tiny coastal town where she lives (this also serves as an excellent excuse to grow her selection of whiskies beyond reasonable limits).

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