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Highland Park at its best! A masterpiece of whisky art. The Highland Park 1989 GM is a personal highlight for me in the Whisky year 2018. Recently I was allowed to try the Highland Park 1991 SV, this one from GM is an interesting counterpart. Although a refill butt, but the two years more in barrel compensate for this without the Brennereicharakter suffers. The HP is a very successful malt that combines sweetness, fruitiness, sherry, oak and spice. An absolute top malt, which gets an absolute buy recommendation from me. Interesting will be a direct comparison to the 1991 SV! 94 points from me for the first tasting.

One of my favorite in 2018!

Nose: Sherry! Really fat sherry rises directly into the nose. The alcohol is extremely well integrated for 57%. Cane sugar, sweetened oranges, raisins, honey, a certain saltiness is just imagination, because I know what I have in the glass, berryberry with a strong pointed lemon, blackberries and blueberries, now finally comes the oak after clear sherry whisky flavors , Milk chocolate, vanilla cream, gaaaaaanz delicate roasted aromas, all flavors are interspersed from the beginning / of heather aromas (yes, I know, HP = there must be heather in it, for me it is always a flowery note after detergent or freshly washed laundry, which I can later assign to the heather), in the second nose as expected, clearer vanilla, the nose is relatively unimpressed by the addition of water and remains at a high level quite unchanged Taste: sweet first and then with strong thumping, full in the mouth, here next to the baskets full of wild berries, the oak stands much clearer than in the nose as a counterpoint, powerfully pushes them with a bawdy bitterness and coffee aromas in the foreground and dominates afterwards, in the second Do not swallow so intensely with more sherry and sweetness, the malt would certainly tolerate water and reward this with more sweetness, sweetness, creaminess and balance. finish: Warming and very long, with bitter walnuts, coffee, heather, honey, very bitter chocolate, less sherry / berry influence Total: I rarely had a half-board with such a clear heather note, which also has to prevail here through the intense sherry and in the mouth against the strong barrel wort. The nice thing about it is that it adds complexity to the malt. It is less well-balanced, but has an interesting twist from sweet sherry to distinct barrel flavor and persistent heather. The flavors do not alternate but dominate each in their field. This changes with the addition of water, which brings significantly more flavor balance here without injecting too much intensity. Clear recommendation of water addition! What remains? A really successful but also intensive old HP. He is not solid and mild, as it is known from some ancient Malts, but very powerful. Therefore, no less exciting and varied. Almost 93 base points? That comes as always on the comparison and I would not want to verify because of the one-time testing. edit: For a higher rating I still miss the balance, which is sacrificed here the intensity.

Creamy and woody on the palate. Complex, elegant and multi-layered....To me, this is simply a legendary modern HP. Amazing stuff!!!

Powerful, great complexity, quite fruity, balanced smokiness - I would not call it necessarily a typical HP as it is almost too fruity and smooth - HP can be more rough and coastal - anyhow really fantastic!

Awesomely delicious!! Best w a little h20!

Fruity, dusty, varnishy, floral, tobacco, slightly sour. Rich, deep, not too sweet, moderately spicy and beautifully combined with the sherry fruitiness. A very good whisky.

side to side with another 33yo HP OB WBID 12528 12528 is a sure win

Orange, dried fruits, tobacco leaves, whiffs of smoke, toffee, spices, a very good modern HP

Lots of time in the glass is recommended here, the Malt develops magnificently and gets better and better! An absolutely brilliant whisky !!

Color: Tawny For me the logical continuation of the 10-12yo, more or less refilled, "seasoned" single cask original bottlings, less sharp and more set, but no less brutal. It is understandable that this bottling has been so well received, but for my taste HP can only tolerate this kind of light fruity sherry in small doses.

It is worth taking a lot of time when sneaking in. The almost three decades in the barrel have set it and made it delicate.

23+22,5+22,5+22,5

Excellent malt. Great distillery!????

well-rounded and elegant

Modern HP profile, delicious but extremely overrated.

Excellent malt.????

A success of a Highland Park, that really combines the best of wood maturation with the excellent Highland Park spirit.

A sensational drop, for me the best of 2018. In comparison with the Highland Park tasted 25 years 48.1% and with the Highland Park 27 SV 30th anniversary. For me of these 3 the best in smell (96 points), taste (94 points) and finish (94 points). Unfortunately the Singnatory drops a little bit because of its noticeable Schwelfelige note. The 25-year-old is great but unfortunately behind the other two. This one I can only recommend, super nose which after a long smell still reveals something ... which needs a lot of air to breathe and very good drinkable with wonderful long finish of both fruity, herbal and sweet as well as creamy and tobacco - oak elements Has. Perfect.

An extremely multi-layered and incredibly tasty HP. Simply outrageously delicious and convincing, unfortunately at the present time outrageously high priced ... 23/23/23/23 (92P)

Again, such a hype whisky :) how good is he? Can he really what? Prof_Dr_John, very good description, I can find myself very well in it. Class whisky from a non-dominant refill-butt of sweetness that combines fruit, sherry, oak and spice. Very complex, in the nose oak, sherry, sweetness, herbs and honey, which dominate spicy aromas. The alcohol is very well integrated for 57%. In the mouth again a mix of spicy aromas, oak, fruit and sweetness are now becoming more intense. Very long and present departure! The sweet flavors remain in the foreground, again mixed with seasoning and oak. Conclusion: Definitely one of the best new releases in 2018. If you get the opportunity, you should try it.

takes a lot of time in the glass - 40min or more - to develop positively, only then the nose shows its full splendor It is very bitter on the palate - I still like it - but also drink my coffee black and like sage tea. If you are sensitive to bitter substances, the malt could be problematic - some of that is certainly too much. Overall, a very exciting drop, but you do not even need to get out of the bar, if you feel like an easily accessible dram or even little time.

So now I've taken some time. Highland Park 1989/2018 GM CC Cask Strength 57% Nose: First, I have to fight through the alcohol. He is quite present. The nose is cooled. A hint of mint resonates. After I got used to the alcohol comes out behind a fat sweetness. Can you almost cut so full is this malt. First, I have a caramel somehow, but that quickly makes room for very cute pipe tobacco. Some leather is there. Dan clearly fruits. But I do not have the typical sherry barrel fruits like dates figs or cherries but berries. Pearberries, blackberries, raspberries and some sour cherries. Everything a bit sour. Not like broken but freshly harvested in a bowl. A few stems are still there. Mouth: The entrance is strong, the mouth glows. The 57% are super involved. In no second you have sharp alcohol or a burn. But that's too strong for me. The mouth becomes hot and then if you would describe it with peppery. With water and hand warmth he becomes even more intense and poet. The fruity gives way and more old wood and spice comes out. The sour fruits remain. He has incredible balance and balance. Towards the end it gets drier and the 29 years in oak barrels take their toll. But strong or unpleasant Bitter I never find him. I did not hear smoke. Finish. The finish is very long. While I'm typing the lines here, I still taste it. The problem: the taste buds start to crave more. Conclusion: For me an exceptional malt. One of the top 3 in 2018. Not as intense and powerful as a Glendronach # 660 or the 89er Family Cask S18, certainly just as much as a layer. But he is less direct. Do not get to the point. He demands, does not want to give up everything right away. Dad makes him different and not as plump as the two mentioned above. And of course no sherry bomb like the 2 but good sherry matured.

NOSE-alcohol perfectly hidden, pleasant aromas of sherry, oak, sweet vanilla, honey and spices. Changes over time TASTE - Dried fruit, honey, leathery, tobacco and even a light oily, sweet earthiness, there is also chocolate. FINISH - long, at the beginning a lot of sherry, nuts, heather honey, then it turns into light spicy notes, some old leather. Overall a very pleasant whisky with a very well matched refill sherry whisky. It is a pity that so few of them come out now and for cosmic amounts. I would give 92 from myself, slightly towards 93, but it takes 2 steps

Furniture polish, tobacco, leather, well balanced, broad spices

Nose is clearly weak , comparing in degustation with 128113. Modern hp. After 5 min in glass indeed some coffee and light orange with sublime peat appear. The palate - wow. Wooow. Very good. The finish is absolutely exceptional - rich, noble, oaky-balanced, with some hint of tobacco.

Tasted at the Usquebaugh NH meeting on 20241214 This was unfortunately from a bottle that was just opened. The experience was good, but prickly because the expression did not have time to breathe. Hopefully I'll be able to taste this again at some time.

The nose is awesome, on the palate he adds a punch. It follows a grand finish. The Malt is absolute class, the bitterness would not be out the back, I could also add one or maybe even two points. And yet: I am excited!

A wonderful, very complex Highland Park, which, however, as already mentioned here, takes a lot of time to show its whole class !!!

An excellent example in my hands, an old cabinet made of solid wood, a little varnish, apricot, lemon, pink apple, red grapes, shortbread homemade apple pie, red Greek olive, marshmallow, vanilla marshmallow, a lot of garden fruit in the taste, ripe apple, flaky pastry, lots of oak notes, a short aftertaste, a continuation of the taste, I did not add water, but it felt better at 3-4% lower strength.

My first big whisky splurge. If whisky can be considered art then this is a masterpiece. The nose is daresay perfect. The palate is a well managed symphony of barrel aging over three decades. Yet I admit you do get 80% for 20% of the cost with a Bowmore 18 D&C. I may not buy many such bottles, but I’m satisfied to know what 99% looks like. The profile reminds me of a marriage between 18 year old peated and sherried whiskies, but you can find the additional age in the nose especially. The oak is never overpowering. What a thing of true beauty.

At first, the Highland Park is a bit closed in the nose, a little time and a few drops of water open it. But then there is a wonderful complexity and intensity, just as one would expect. Despite the 29 years old, he looks very much alive. In the mouth the aromas almost explode, the body offers a fantastic mouthfeel and shows the classic notes of an old sherry whisky, but without the expected bitterness. The finish adapts wonderfully and is wonderfully long. If you are looking for a long-matured sherry whisky, but don't like bitterness, you will find it here. However, you should definitely add a few drops of water and you will get a fantastic treat.