Highland Park make certain every bottle reaches you in perfect condition, a harmonised whisky like no others.
Other distillers may often see the practice of harmonising the whisky as a needless expenditure, Highland Park consider, it an essential part of their rich heritage. Without it, Highland Park just wouldn’t be the same. Each individual batch of Highland Park is drawn together from a variety of cask types, contributing an array of distinct, one of a kind flavour, in addition of the harmonisation of up to six months together marrying perfectly. The impact this marriage has on the whisky is nothing short of stunning and ensures homogeneousness, a little convolution and exceptional balance on the taste.
With as much as 70% of the overall flavour of a single malt whisky coming from the type of cask it is matured in, it is imperative to treat these handmade casks with a reverence and respect. Orkney is unusually blessed with a wonderfully temperate climate, with no extreme cold or hot temperatures fluctuations; perfect for a long, cool maturation in our traditional warehouses. Other distilleries often mature their casks far from the distillery. Highland Park feels that by staying close to home, it gives the whisky a distinctly Orcadian personality, with a smooth character and delicate smokiness.
Sherry oak casks are far more expensive but Highland Park believes that they are worth it for the rich character and natural colour they provide to the maturing spirit.
Highland Park is one of only a handful of distilleries that still retains a traditional malting floor, turning each batch of malt by hand, in what is a physically demanding process malting the barley, steeped in the mineral rich water from the Crantit spring, before transferring it to the malting floor to slowly germinate. When it is ready, the barley is then placed into the kilns where the aromatic peating process begins.
Highland Park really pair well with the right food. From sushi to ginger pastry, dark chocolates, coffee and citrus fruits dishes or deserts. Be careful putting garlic and Scotch whisky together, they tend to fight each other over the favour.
wine Collections At The Oaks Cellars