Highland Park 12 Year Review [In Depth]
Highland Park 12 Year Single Malt Scotch
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Highland Park 12 Year Details
Distillery: Highland Park
Type & Region: Scotch, Scotland
Alcohol: 43%
Composition: 100% malted barley
Aged: At least 12 years
Color: 1.2/2.0 on the color scale (chestnut, oloroso sherry)
Price: $60
From the company website:
Matured predominantly in European and American sherry seasoned oak casks, our iconic 12 Year Old single malt whisky is spicy and well-rounded, packed with the flavours of sun-kissed Seville oranges and rich fruitcake spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; you’ll find molten heather honey in this whisky’s waves of heathery peat smoke. Why not try it with a handful of wasabi peas on the side or alongside a sizzling, pan-fried rib-eye steak or with smoked salmon and sour cream.
Highland Park 12 Year overview
When it comes to what I would call intermediate-level Scotch, there are a lot of single malt / blended malt / blended Scotch options on shelves. Honestly, it’s overwhelming for me. Especially with Scotch, and less so other whiskeys, the best place to start is with how much smoke you want.
If you want more smoke, you go towards Islay-made Scotches such as Laphroaig, Lagavulin, or Ardbeg. If you don’t want any peat, then you usually go for something from Campbelltown, Highlands, or Speyside. If you want some peat, then it gets a little more muddled because a lot of distilleries across Scotland dabble in that area.
For the purposes of this review, Highland Park is one of those Scotch distilleries that lightly peats their scotches. So if you think / know that you like a little smoke, then keep on reading.
Highland Park is located on the Orkney Islands of Scotland, which is a group of islands north of the main Scotland island. So FYI, if you see any Scotch mention “Orkney Islands” but not the distillery’s name, it’s Highland Park. It’s so out there and isolated that it has its own region.
Highland Park 12 Year Viking Honour is a 12 year old and 43% ABV Single Malt Scotch. Single means from one distillery, malt means 100% malted barley, and Scotch means a whole bunch of things about how the whiskey was made, including that it was distilled and aged in Scotland.
And at 43% ABV, it’s not meant to be a super punchy and intense drink, although I admit that I’m biased because I’ve been drinking whiskey for so long that I usually find it to be “easy drinking”. You may find it to be intense and a lot to handle, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
This is the third Highland Park Scotch that I’ve never had. I’ve had Highland Park Cask Strength Batch 5 and an Independently bottled 12 year sherry single cask matured bottling, so I’m still learning a lot about this distillery.
Let’s learn more about and hopefully enjoy this Scotch from a secluded place in this Highland Park 12 Year Single Malt review.
This bottle was provided at no cost to me. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Highland Park 12 Year smell
There’s an initial pleasant and creamy honey with a little bit of dark fruit and ripe fruit funk, then tropical lemon + pineapple + starfruit, followed by lighter dark date, ripe peach, toasted oak and malt, and a little smoke and cinnamon. The smoke is a little more noticeable here than in the cask strength, but that may also be because it’s less woody and spicy than the cask strength.
Highland Park 12 Year is pleasant, although I personally want more fullness and oomph. There’s a nice roundness to the scents, but at the same time the scents don’t fill it out. Weird right…round but not full.
But I get it, this isn’t necessarily the type of Scotch that’s made for me, but it still smells nice
After swirling, I smell honey, white pear, starfruit, vanilla, toasted malt and oak, cinnamon, and just a hint of smoke and funky dark fruit. If you’re immediately afraid at the mention of smoke, don’t be just yet. This is not a Laphroaig or Lagavulin smoke bomb, it’s really a subtle peat.
There’s a nice round creaminess, although the scents themselves don’t have a ton of fullness. It’s not flat or bland, but it’s not rich and bold either.
Highland Park 12 Year is varied, approachable, and dare I say smooth to the nose, but it’s not the type of Scotch that amazes or challenges the more experienced drinker.
Highland Park 12 Year taste and aftertaste
I taste honey, ripe peach, lemon, starfruit, ripe, pineapple, toasted oak and malt, cinnamon, and a little smoke, dried date, and dryness.
Highland Park 12 Year has a nice mix of sweet, tropical fruity, and toasty notes with just a hint of smoke. It tastes pleasant enough, but doesn’t have much in the way of depth, oomph, or richness, although it’s also not flat or boring either. It’s A little more dry than I expected though.
I guess the point is that it’s very approachable and relatively soft.
With “chewing “, I taste honey, lemon, starfruit, creamy vanilla, roasted oak and malt, dried prune, cinnamon, and lightly vegetal smoke. The flavors are a little more full this time with added dried prune mixed in with the tropical fruit that comes from the bourbon cask.
The finish leaves honey, starfruit, toasted oak and malt with lingering dried fruit, toasted malt and oak, and hints of smoke. The second time it leaves pineapple, honey, dried prune, toasted malt and wood, and cinnamon with lingering toastiness, pineapple, and lemon.
Highland Park 12 Year has decent expressiveness and range, but the fullness and pop feel lacking. Some of it is probably the lower ABV and some of it is the cask selection.
This is still a fairly flavorful and very approachable single malt Scotch that doesn’t overly impress.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Highland Park 12 Year
Highland Park 12 Year is a tough whiskey for me to rate. This is generally not the type of whiskey I would rate highly, not because it’s bad but because it’s so easy, moderate, and safe. It’s the type of Scotch you use to introduce someone to the better stuff and help that person figure out if they like it or not.
The tropical and dark fruits, creaminess, and toastiness with gentle smokiness are all relatively fragrant, flavorful, and approachable. That is definitely enough for a “Mid Shelf+” rating, but it’s not worthy of higher because it doesn’t offer more vibrant richness, pop, expressiveness, and complexity.
Those things can still be had at 43% ABV given the right barrels in the blend, but this is not that type of Scotch. There’s no problem with that, it just is what it is.
Nonetheless, I still enjoyed drinking it for this review and I even made a tasty old fashioned with some bourbon soaked cherries and the cherry juice in the container. Really, the cherry and juice complement the dark fruit flavors in Highland Park 12 Year well.
Highland Park 12 Year is an objectively well made Scotch…that isn’t made for me. This is the Scotch for you if you want a sweet, fruity, easy, approachable, and only slightly smoky experience. If you want to be challenged, amazed, or impressed, then this isn’t the one for you…and that’s ok. I still appreciate it for what it is.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
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