Highland Park 19yo 1970 / 1989 Gordon & Macphail 52.9%

Highland Park 19yo 1970 / 1989 Gordon & Macphail 52.9%

You gorgeous old Orcadian. And a beautiful old label. Find here a seamless integration of cask, peat and spirit, polished by time and spun into a glowing globe. It throws off unending glints of delicate fruit, dried and preserved, cocoa dust, violet leaf, licorice, amaro, engine oil, bracing sea air, wood ash, dry earthen floors and ancient boxes of camphor and teak (dark dark dark). No end in sight. Blackly oozing peat, a bit of an aromatic oil which must be heavy extracts of myrrh, and streaks of lampblack on hot lamp glass. Quite some old bottle effect as well. This one turns and turns, never revealing all, yet comfortable in the knowledge that its nuances effortlessly entices anyway.

Perhaps because of that, no single oversized aspect underlines the character of this whisky, and instead it is an amalgamation of little finesses not easily grasped or understood. Ask 10 people about Highland Park and receive 11 answers. At least this is something which seems to have carried over the various decade-long changes in style and won it loyal fans nevertheless. In that regard count me in as a mid-70s man. I might say 92 but will go with 93 pts