Highland Park Magnus. Big dark bottle, cool.. uh.. dragon.. wolfy sort of logo. Classic Highland Park.
And by “classic” Highland Park I mean this truism: the less you pay for Highland Park the better it is. And not just in that classic market economics sense. We’ve had a few Highland Parks at iScotch and we’ve figured out that age and HP aren’t great friends. I’ve had other reports from whiskynauts in the field that the large, expensive, showoff Highland Parks with the viking themes are… not great; certainly not worth the premium of buying it buy the shot in a bar.
But that’s not this Highland Park. This is a fifty dollar Highland Park. And that makes a significant difference. Without coming across as shine or too young, this expression really nails the Islands whisky experience at a decent discount. To my taste it competes well with the entry Bowmores & Taliskers which are usually available at greater cost, for that lovely Islay/Islands smoke & sea. Here’s what we thought:
nose
Dan – light, green apple, slightly caramlized
Simon – lightly oaked, little smoke, well assembled, lemons, cherries
Bowick – butterscotch, granny smith apples
Matt M – very light fruit apple, grape
neat
Dan – very light, bright wood (oak), slightly sweet tart
Simon – gold, smokey caramel pie
Bowick – caramel, easy to drink
Matt M – caramel cooking, spice, wood
finish
Dan – spicy medium
Simon – light burn & long warm
Bowick – caramel, light burn
Matt M – same with very light burn
splash
Dan – thinner & less sweet
Simon – thinned, sharper
Bowick – pleasant
Matt M – n/a
overall
Dan – 8/10
Simon – 8.2/10
Bowick – 8/10
Matt M – 8.5/10
Highland Park Magnus – 40% 750ml – $50.05 – Orkney Islands
Try it? Yes. Buy it? Absolutely.
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