Highland Park 15 review, and the awkward bit comes first: the 12 is so good at about £43 that the 15 has a job to do. Nearly double the money needs to buy more than three extra years on a label.
It does buy more, though not what the Viking marketing implies. This is Orkney malt at 44%, built mostly from sherry-seasoned European oak with some American oak, and the extra time gives you depth, not volume. The heather and honey are still there. The smoke has just gone indoors and stopped shouting.
Highland Park sits in Kirkwall, the Orkney capital, and belongs to Edrington, the Scottish group that also owns The Macallan. The 15 is the middle of the core range, bottled at 44% and sold under the name Viking Heart. The Norse theming is relentless across this brand, and the whisky underneath it is rather better than the marketing needs it to be.
The recipe is what has always set Highland Park apart: some of the barley is floor-malted on site, the kiln is fired with local heather-rich peat, and the casks lean towards sherry. The Highland Park distillery page has the production detail, and peat and smoke explains why Orkney smoke tastes gentler than Islay smoke. The 15 is where that smoky backbone meets enough sherry to round it off.
Orange peel, toffee and heather honey, with just enough smoke to keep it honest.
The nose opens with dark orange marmalade, toffee and a spoonful of heather honey, then a drift of sweet, almost peaty smoke comes through, like a bonfire three fields away. Dried figs and raisins sit behind it, with a little cedar from the sherry oak.
On the palate it is rounder and heavier than the 12. Toffee and baked orange arrive first, then malt, dark chocolate and a mild pepper, with the smoke underneath rather than on top. At 44% it has body without any burn, and it stays oily even after a few drops of water.
The finish is long and warm. Spice and dark fruit fade first, the smoke lingers last, and a faint saltiness shows up on the way out, which I put down to the island. If the 12 finishes politely, the 15 finishes like a guest who has no intention of leaving the party.
Neat, in a proper glass, with a few drops of water if you want the honey to open up. I would not add ice and I would not mix it; at this price that borders on antisocial. Water and ice covers why a splash helps and a cube hurts.
It handles cold evenings better than summer ones, and it sits happily next to dark chocolate and a strip of orange peel. A fire is optional but recommended.
About £81 for 70 cl, against about £43 for the Highland Park 12, which scores 81 on my page. That is the real comparison, and the 15 wins it by a smaller margin than the price gap suggests. You are paying for more sherry weight, a longer finish and the stronger bottling, and I think those are worth about half of the extra cost.
Against the sherried malts around it, the 15 is fair rather than cheap. GlenDronach 12 scores 82 at about £50 and is more sherry-forward, and Balvenie 12 DoubleWood scores 83 at about £48. Neither has Orkney heather smoke, which is the reason to consider the 15 at all.
People assume Highland Park is Islay with a different postcode. It is not. The peat is cut from Orkney moorland, where trees do not grow, so it is heather-heavy and floral, and the smoke reads as sweet and rounded rather than medicinal. If you came to Scotch through Ardbeg 10, which scores 72, this will taste like a different country.
The 15 also shows how age shifts the balance. The ten year old Viking Scars leans on bourbon casks and is lighter, honeyed and simple. By fifteen years the sherry has taken more control and the smoke has become a supporting actor. That is a trade you either like or you do not, and I do.
Four bottles I would put next to it, depending on what you want more of:
The 12 does most of the same job for about half the money, with a little more smoke and a little less depth.
If the sherry is what you like most about the 15, this gives you more of it for about £50.
Smoother and sweeter, no smoke, and a very safe pour at about £48.
Lighter and fresher, from the other Kirkwall distillery, and a good way to see the island without the smoke.
Highland Park 15 is a grown-up version of the 12: deeper, longer, a little more serious, and no longer the obvious bargain the 12 is. It earns its price without embarrassing anyone, and it is the one I would pour for someone who already likes Orkney and wants to see what extra years do.
If you have never tried Highland Park, start with the 12 and save the difference. If you already own the 12 and keep reaching for it, the 15 is the sensible next step, and that is as much of a recommendation as an £81 bottle needs.
Caskable score: 83 out of 100.
Orange marmalade, toffee, heather honey and dried figs with a drift of sweet smoke.
Toffee, baked orange, malt and dark chocolate, with mild pepper and smoke underneath.
Long and warm, with dark fruit, lingering smoke and a faint saltiness.
A deeper, longer 12 that earns its price without shouting.
Thomas Grønvold is the founder of Caskable and a whisky enthusiast who believes the best way to learn about whisky is simply to drink it, compare it, and stay curious. From supermarket favourites to bottles from distilleries around the world, he writes about what he actually tastes and experiences, without pretending you need to be an expert to enjoy a good dram.
View profile →
