Scotch Whisky Review #342: Cadenhead’s Highland Park 28 Year (1988)

Distillery: Highland Park.

Bottler: Cadenhead’s.

Region: Island.

Age: 28 Year. Distilled in 1988. Bottled in 2016.

ABV: 55.5%.

Cask Type: Sherry Butt.

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/FederalAgents.

Color: 1.3, Russet/Muscat. Non-Chill Filtered and Natural Color.

This is the 7th installment of this years’ Christmas Countdown. You can see the 2020 edition here and 2019 edition here.

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This whisky was reviewed blind.

Nose: It’s quite strong on the nose, it really clears the sinuses out. When I got past the initial onslaught of alcohol, there’s a bit of orchard fruit. Apples are the main one, and it is notes of apples that are just about to turn and start to ferment. There’s a gassy, mineral-y element here as well.

Palate: It’s super hot and really does need some water. I can’t taste anything at full strength but thankfully it does calm down quite well with a few drops of water. There are metallic notes with a bit of acetone. It’s quite mineral-y, like a super hard mineral water. A hint of apple cider comes around the back.

Finish: Medium in length. There’s a hint of burnt ends that makes it through the sea of metallic and mineral notes.

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Guess: It has to be Highland Park. It’s definitely 55%+ ABV. Probably 20+ years of age.

Reveal: Cadenhead’s Highland Park 28 Year (1988)

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Conclusion: /u/FederalAgents isn’t the first to have tried giving me a blind pour of Highland Park to see if he could break past my aversion to it (/u/KissMeElon‘s best Highland Park also fell victim to it). Unfortunately, I think it’s more than just a mental association now. Even blind, Highland Park is largely just okay for me at best and actively poor at worst. I really want to know what it is, I’ve speculated it’s literally something in the water on Orkney but who knows at this point. This was decent as I do enjoy mineral water, but it was far from something I’d prefer. If you’re reading this and thinking you should try a bottle, I’d ignore my ramblings and go for someone who actually does care for Highland Park because I’m just going to lead you astray.

Final Score: 73.

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Scotch Whisky Review #342, Island Review #51, Whisky Network Review #492

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.