Highland Park 14YO Single Cask – Korea Duty Free Edition 63.3% 700ml whisky grotto

Highland Park is one of Scotland’s great distilleries. Owners, Edrington Group continue an ongoing project that exports ‘ambassador’ casks around the globe. Aimed at connoisseurs and collectors, most are bottled as deeply coloured, middle-aged expressions from active sherry casks. They’ve established Highland Park’s reputation as a top-class malt for a new generation.

We have secured a small volume of this spectacular Korean Duty Free Exclusive, distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2019 from first-fill European oak sherry cask #6529. While there’s been at least one equivalent Australian bottling, Korea clearly has more than a few thrill-seekers satisfied with nothing less than the most explosive malts Scotland has to offer. 

A massively complex nose, with aromas of matchbox, pickled onion, brackish water and white pepper to break through to sweeter, richer sensations of oloroso, pipe tobacco, dried fruits and nut infused dark chocolate.
The palate packs a punch; the entry is big on wood spice, climaxing in a spike of spirit heat, a rush of nutty malt, dark chocolate, ginger bread and trace sulphur, while the aftertaste lingers with bitter peels, Asian spices, match box and distant wood smoke.
It’s the kind of whisky that reveals itself gradually, picking up sherry definition with each pass. Experiment with ample water to tame the peppers and draw out the honeyed tones, and allow plenty of air time to show its best.
Emptied from cask at a whopping 63.3%, we have a fraction of the original 584 bottles on offer

700mL | 63.3% ABV