Highland Park 1978 23yo (Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask)

Last weekend I was invited over to a friend’s place for a blind whisky tasting. We had no idea what was in store, but it pretty quickly became clear that the level was very high. This is the first of the whiskies we tasted blind, a 23 year old Highland Park independent bottling from 2001, bottled by Douglas Laing at 50%.

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Distiller: Highland Park
Distilled: 1978
Bottled: 2001
ABV: 50%
Age: 23yo
Cask type: Undisclosed
Setting: Blind (no prior knowledge)

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Nose: Moss, custard, earth, lychee, a woodsy funk and some oaky peat. Wow.
Palate: Some oak presence, along with a meatiness. Full, creamy and sweet.
Finish: Vanilla, round oak, apricot and lychee. Extraordinarily rich.
Overall: Delicious meaty peat, but simultaneously restrained and polite. It gets my points, there’s so much complexity here. Unfortunately not something I’ll be finding again soon.
Rank: 8