Highland Park 18 Year Old 1996 Old & Rare

Highland Park 18 Year Old 1996 Vintage Orcadian Island single malt Scotch whisky. Single cask #10854 bottled 2014 by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Old & Rare Platimum Selection. 234 bottles. Highland Park Highland Park Distillery is the most northerly malt whisky distillery in Scotland  and the closest Scottish distillery to the Arctic Circle. Highland Park was established in 1798 and is one of the few Scottish distilleries which continues to malt barley on its own traditional malting floors and to use locally cut peat from Hobbister Moor in its malt kiln. The distillery visitor centre welcomes visitors and offers distillery tours. A pale golden coloured whisky with a delicate sweet nose. Vanilla combines with heather honey, pears and red apples with a hint of marzipan. On the palate it is sweet and slightly peppery initially with vanilla butter shortbread, dark chocolate and a wisp of smoke. This finally leads to a long, dry finish with a touch of smoke and oak.