After reviewing a fantastic Mortlach, I will now review the second bottle that I brought home from the Cadenhead warehouse tasting in Campbeltown. Normally I’m not really a fan of the Highland Park expressions, especially the standard range can not charm me, but this Highland Park 1988 was something different. This one really surprised me.

This Highland Park has matured in a refill bourbon hogshead for 29 years and is bottled at 51,5% ABV.

Highland Park 1988 tasting notes:

Nose: Quite salty, it reminds me of broth. This is followed by vanilla, white fruit, mainly unripe pears, and apple juice. A nice hint of heather honey, and raspberries but this is very much in the background. When adding water, anise and some floral notes too. Then it gets salty again, but not as much as before.

Taste: This is a bit different from the nose. It’s salty and the honey is still there, but the white fruit is gone. Somewhat bitter, like very dark chocolate can be. When I add water it becomes a bit sweeter. More honey, and the anise is back. The bitterness and the salt are gone.

Finish: The finish is mid-long with anise, liquorice and white pepper. A little bit dry at the end.

In proportion to the taste and finish, the nose is more fruity. This continues to evolve. The nose is very interesting, and the taste is good but this weakens in the finish, despite being mid-length. This is getting better with water though.

All in all, a very good Highland Park, but this one definitely needs some water.