Last week’s whisky review was of the Longrow Rundlets & Kilderkins, which was distilled in 2001 and released in 2013. This week’s review is of a Highland Park that was released more than a decade prior, in 2002. I didn’t purchase it in 2002, however; at the time I had only barely started drinking single malt whisky and I’m not sure I was even aware of Highland Park as a distillery. No, I purchased it in December 2011 (I can tell you the month because in those days I was very meticulous about maintaining my whisky spreadsheet). I found a bottle at a store in a northern suburb of Minneapolis, on the shelf at the same price being asked for the current 18 yo (the flat bottle that had been introduced in 2006/7). I didn’t actually record it as a 2002 release in my spreadsheet though—it’s a funny story, how I came to confirm that date. When I opened this bottle last week, I peered at it against the light to find the bottle code printed on the inside of the label. That bottle code is L0146 B L11 12/03 10:16. Off I went to Google to see if there was any information out there on decoding Highland Park’s bottling codes. I arrived on this discussion on Connosr.com which indicated it was a 2002 release. The information came from a thread on the old WhiskyWhiskyWhisky forums. I clicked on the link to that thread to find…that it had been started by me in December 2011, right after I purchased the bottle. And the question had been answered by two different sources in 2013. I had absolutely no memory of this. I blame the whisky. Anyway, the bottle has been open a few days; here finally are my notes.

Highland Park 18, 2002 Release (43%; from my own bottle)

Nose: Beautiful old school sherry with a blend of toffee, butterscotch, apricot, dried tangerine peel and black tea. A little brighter on the second sniff and there’s a hint of tobacco/smoke as well. As it sits there’s some polished oak in the mix as well. With more time the sweetness is more honeyed. Water brightens it up, bringing out more citrus.

Palate: Comes in as indicated by the nose. Wonderful depth of flavour and texture at 43%. Sweeter on the second sip and there’s a bit of oaky grip as well. With time there’s some dark banana bread. Continues in this vein. Water pushes the oak back and brings out some roasted malt.

Finish: Long. As the sweeter notes fade, the smoke/pipe tobacco picks up. Saltier at the very end. The oak from the palate sticks around longer on the finish with time. As on the palate with water.

Comments: Just a lovely whisky. I am all but positive that this has some spirit in it that is quite a bit more than 18 years old—there’s a quality to the sherry notes that puts me in mind of the HP 25 of this general era. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the contemporary 18 yo. Even though I’d be surprised if it were as good, this has me sort of curious to what the current profile is like.

Rating: 90 points.