Highland Park Cask Strength #5 - Review

Mar 19

Highland Park Distillery, situated in Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands, Scotland, is steeped in history and legend. The distillery's origins are often attributed to Magnus Eunson, a butcher and church officer who allegedly began illicitly distilling whisky on the site in 1798. Eunson's clandestine operations were eventually discovered, marking the unofficial beginning of Highland Park's whisky-making tradition. It wasn't until 1826 that the distillery received its official license to distill, making it one of the earliest legal distilleries following the 1823 Excise Act.

Over the centuries, Highland Park has changed hands several times. The distillery was owned by the Borwick family until the late 1800s, when it was sold to William Stuart and later to James Grant in 1895. Grant expanded the distillery, adding more stills and establishing Highland Park as a major player in the international whisky market. The distillery remained operational until it was mothballed during World War I and reopened in 1937 under Highland Distillers. In 1999, Highland Park became part of the Edrington Group, alongside other prestigious brands like The Macallan.

Today, Highland Park is renowned for its unique production methods, including the use of local peat from Hobbister Moor and its commitment to malting its own barley. This approach contributes to the distinctive smoky sweetness characteristic of Highland Park whiskies.

Highland Park's Cask Strength Release No. 5 is part of a highly acclaimed series that showcases the distillery's craftsmanship in its purest form. This expression is bottled straight from the cask without dilution, preserving its natural intensity and complexity. The whisky is matured predominantly in first-fill, sherry-seasoned European oak casks, including Pedro Ximénez casks, along with refill casks and a small quantity of first-fill, sherry-seasoned American oak casks. This combination of cask types allows for a rich and complex character, reflecting Highland Park's commitment to traditional whisky-making techniques blended with modern flavor exploration(3)(5)(7). As a limited edition release, Cask Strength No. 5 is highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts alike, offering a unique experience of Orkney's wild beauty and Highland Park's Viking heritage.

Review:

Nose: This is a mildly neutral nose. Butterscotch is the first note I get followed by some melon and sherry cask influence. The ethanol is a bit overbearing and mutes out some other notes I am starting to get. There is a bit of barrel char here, little to no peat, and some sweetness. Not much else to write.

Palate: Woof, this thing will smack you around a bit. I love the maltiness that I get out of this along with the caramel, honey dew notes and some peat characteristics in the end as well. This is not overbearingly peaty and is pretty light for being such a high proof scotch. I fear that the caramel and fruit notes are heavily drowned out by the ABV. I tried this sip again with a few drops of water and it cleared some of the zingy-ness that I had on the palate and still left a majority of the flavors here. Do you ever have a high proof spirit that doesn’t have flavors to fight long side it and instead you get an electric current type feel zapping your tongue? Unfortunately, I find that to be the case here.

Finish: The finish last quite a while to this whiskey’s credit and the sherry really shines from front to back. It doesn’t introduce any new notes but it does carry through the dried fruit notes through the proof that was elevated on the first few seconds of the sip.

Overall: 68. This is straight down the middle in the scotch world for me but the value at $80-$90 really kicked this one down. I felt it brought some good flavors but it was wildly unbalanced with the proof it brought. Adding some water to this helped, but still it was nothing exceptional. I want to mention, I really enjoy Highland Park and their offerings, but this one just wasn’t for me. I would stick with the 12 year old and save a few bucks.

Value: 25/100; (-5 on the overall). Highland Park is a powerhouse in the scotch world and they make some wonderful distillate. I think this fell short due to its age (which I am guessing at 7-8 years old). It didnt allow the flavors to develop enough to compete with the firepower of the alcohol content. I'm not sure I would buy this one again.

Availability: Relatively available. While it is labeled as a limited edition, I have seen these lying around a few different stores.

Citations:

Brayden Bennell

Highland Park Cask Strength #5 - Review

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