It’s been a while since I tried anything by The Ultimate. Generally I don’t really buy into the brand since I often find the whisky a little bit lackluster. Often bottled too young, under ten years old. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the combination of the distilleries, and the age, and the fact that I’ve been let down by quite a few from this bottler don’t make me jump up when something new is released.

However, undisclosed Orkney, AKA Highland Park, is a bit of a difference. In this case I got a sample from a friend, although I was eyeing this bottle myself as well. As in, 16 year old Highland Park for just a blip over € 50 is a steal in any case, and I don’t think Highland Park makes whiskies that are bad enough to be disappointing at that price point.

Sniff:
Light sherry, light peat smoke. Peaches, heather, lighter dried fruits. Very coastal, and very typical of Highland Park. Quite a bit of oak, dried fruits, marram grass.

Sip:
A bit of bite with chili heat. There’s oak, pepper, a slight bitter note with peach stones and almonds. Salinity and reeds, dried grass, sherry.

Swallow:
The finish is very gentle with wood, peach and heather. A bit of smoke, but not sea-weed-y. Quite sweet with hints of sherry and a bit of peach syrup.

A bit on the sweet side, but lovely flavors. I love, as expected, that there’s a whiff of Highland peat and heather to counter the sweetness a little bit. If that wasn’t there, this review would have panned out differently.

But, lovely fruitiness, lovely mix of distillery and cask characters. Good stuff!

87/100