For some unknown reason I though Whitlaw was an Autralian of New Zealand distillery. I have no idea where that comes from, but I was very wrong of course. I didn’t taste this exactly blind, but this did blind me somewhat to what I was actually having.

I even told JPH that I didn’t really understand why New Zealand distilleries would want to do a thing that is so close to Scotch and not create their own niche. Turns out, this is very similar to Scotch indeed!

So, after doing some minimal checking on Whiskybase (read: entering the wbid and seeing what’s there), this turns out to be a Highland Park whisky, but without the name on the label. A ten year old from a sherry cask, from a bottler that seems to be doing quite a few of those dark sherry whiskies.

I’m quite partial to Highland Park, so let’s find out where this one ends up!

Sniff:
There’s a lot of gentle sherry with lots of dried fruits. There’s a bit of a twig like bitterness behind it, with dates and plums. Not overly complex, but there is a bit of oak in the background too.

Sip:
The palate brings a lot more punch than the gentle nose made me expect. Quite dry but mostly sherry with lots of dried fruits, some heather and wood. A hint of walnuts and almonds. Black pepper too.

Swallow:
The finish stays rather sharp, but combined with the sweetness of the dried fruits, the oak it’s quite enjoyable. It’s a very long finish too, which is great!

There are a lot of positives in this dram, but the singular drawback is that the sherry has been very active during maturation and there’s not a lot of distillery character, or idiosyncrasy left. A minor note of heather is what I can pinpoint in the notes I wrote that are something that I find typical for Highland Park. Not unique, but typical.

Still, quite a tasty and easy to drink whisky, so that’s good.

86/100