Bottle of the Week
Bottle of the Week: Highland Park 17 Ice Edition
Oct
Highland Park Distillery takes its place in the world very seriously indeed and this 53.9% ABV single malt plays a big part in that. Perched high in the Orkney Islands on a similar latitude to Anchorage Alaska, the distillery lies just outside the arctic circle.
Over the centuries, ownership of the 70 islands has passed back and forth between the kingdoms of Norway and Sweden before becoming part of modern Scotland and the UK. Around 20 of the islands are inhabited and Highland Park operates on the largest one, known as the Mainland, a cold and windswept place with almost no trees and lots of blanket bog.
The history of the islands is wrapped tightly in the legends and lore of each of these proud Celtic and Scandinavian nations and this 17-year-old whisky is part of the ongoing drive by Highland Park to root itself in that past.
The ice in its title is nothing to do with chilling your whisky and everything to do with the ice and fire of Norse mythology. There is a Fire edition also. The Ice Edition was matured exclusively in bourbon casks and, despite its place of origin, manages to conjure a sense of the tropics in its flavour profile, with ripe fruit, coconut and spice lifting through the layers. Its striking wood and sculpted glass presentation packaging turned heads when it was released back in 2016.
Highland Park uses peat that it hand cuts on Hobbister Moor, a 2,000-acre moorland on the island that is used in small quantities to thread this lighter peat profile through all its whisky. Along with the fire edition this is a super addition to a collection with a distillery story that’s unfolding with every new release.
