Highland Park 18 Year Old 700ml

Highland Park 18 Year Old, labelled Viking Pride, is an Orkney single malt made in Kirkwall, off Scotland’s north coast. Every drop has spent 18 years or more in oak, mostly casks seasoned with sherry, and it goes into the bottle at 43% ABV.

Buy Highland Park 18 Year Old Online in New Zealand

Highland Park traces its roots in Kirkwall to 1798. The distillery is one of the few in Scotland that still turns part of its own barley on traditional malting floors, and it dries that malt over Orkney peat. Orkney has almost no trees, so its peat is made up largely of heather and other low plants. When it burns it gives a fragrant, heathery smoke that is lighter and sweeter than the heavier peat smoke of many Islay malts. The 18 Year Old leans on a high share of first-fill sherry seasoned casks, which bring dried fruit, toffee and spice, while the smoke stays in the background. In the core range it sits above the 12 Year Old (Viking Honour) and the 15, and below the much older 21, 25 and 30. If you already enjoy the 12, the 18 shows what extra years in sherry oak do to the same spirit: deeper, rounder and longer, with the smoke softer and more woven in.

Pour a measure neat, ideally into a nosing glass, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then try adding a little water, which can draw out more honey and orange. It suits dark chocolate, a fruit cake, smoked salmon or a hard aged cheese. With 18 years in oak behind it, it is a natural choice for a milestone birthday or a retirement. Once opened, keep the bottle upright, sealed and away from sunlight and it will keep well for a year or more, though the aromas are at their liveliest in the first months.