HIGHLAND PARK

Experience the Exquisite Legacy of Highland Park Whisky! 

We are thrilled to introduce you to the extraordinary world of Highland Park Distillery, where honoured traditions and unparalleled craftsmanship unite to create a whisky experience like no other. With over 200 years of expertise, they take immense pride in offering you a taste of rich heritage and the finest selection of premium whiskies.

Step into the realm of Highland Park, and shop the range below.

 


A DYNAMIC BALANCE OF UNEXPECTED CONTRASTS

Highland Park whisky is the ultimate expression of wild harmony. It is a result of a combination of Orkney's forces and influences, which gives it a complex balance of heather honey, rich fruitcake, and peat smoke. Each of these elements works together to create the perfect contrast in every bottle of Highland Park whisky.

 

Highland Park single malt Scotch whisky captures the unique and often contradictory elements of their Orkney environment. They know that taming these opposing elements would be too easy. They prefer to find harmony between them, which is what makes their whisky so special.

 


 

 

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THE FIVE KEYSTONES OF PRODUCTION

From the ancient art of stonemasonry, Highland Park has adopted a metaphor to describe how they make their whisky. For an arch structure to be truly strong, it requires one keystone stone in order to hold itself together. Similarly, their whisky is also composed of five keystones that bring together a flavourful and robust spirit; these same five principles have been the cornerstone of Highland Park's production process since 1798. It takes absolute skill, determination and dedication to craft a smooth malt whisky – all of which are essential components to creating this brilliant single malt.

1 HAND-TURNED FLOOR MALTINGS

They are one of only a handful of distilleries to still turn their malt by hand. It’s hard work yes, but the end justifies the means (and vice versa, when you think about it). When barley is malting, it generates a substantial amount of heat (starch turning into sugar to fuel growth), so they painstakingly turn it by hand, every eight hours, seven days a week, to maintain a constant airflow and exactly the right amount of moisture (5%) to fully absorb the intense aromatic smoke – the ‘reek’ – produced by the hobbister moor peat smouldering in their ancient kilns.

2 AROMATIC PEAT FROM HOBBISTER MOOR

The peat from hobbister moor is completely unique to highland park and vitally important to the unique flavour and character of their whisky – a critical strand of the whisky's DNA. The moor lies just seven miles from the distillery and its peat is over 9,000 years old in places and up to 4m deep. Treeless, as few, can survive the constant onslaught of ferocious winds, it is rich in fragrant heather from the top layer of fog to the densely compacted yarphie and finally the ancient, coal-like moss. Annually in April, they carefully hand-cut peat from this rugged, ancient landscape and dry it naturally over the summer months before burning it in their ancient kilns, where its heathery aromatic smoke infuses the malting barley. Highland Park is deeply bound to this wild and windy landscape and do what they can to protect and preserve it. They partner with the royal society for the Protection of Birds to improve the wetlands and use peat more efficiently now than in the past, cutting 30% less each year and only taking what they need.

3 SHERRY SEASONED OAK CASKS

Casks contribute up to 60% of the whisky’s final flavour and 100% of its natural colour so they insist on the finest quality sherry-seasoned oak casks for maturation, not just for finishing. They work in partnership with carefully managed forests to annually select European and American oak trees, and cut the wood into staves at precisely 45° to make it hard for any spirit to escape. This is exactly how our Viking ancestors made their longships watertight. They then ship the staves to Jerez in southern Spain where they’re made into casks, filled with Spanish sherry and left to mature for around two years, before being emptied and shipped back to Orkney to be filled with the new make spirit, fresh from Highland Park stills. Expensive yes, but worth every penny.

4 COOL MATURATION

To mature whisky to perfection, you need time, stoic patience and a cruelly long winter. Welcome to Orkney. the islands are scattered in stormy waters off the extreme north coast of Scotland, where the north sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. The coastlines are constantly pounded by waves and islands by sea winds, reaching up to 100mph in winter. And those winters are dark and long. Very long. Yet, by complete contrast, Highland Park enjoys a curiously mild climate, tempered by the warming effect of the gulf stream. While the weather may drive itself into a frenzy, the temperature seldom drops below 2°c or above 16°c. Perfect for the whisky’s long, cool and evenly paced maturation in their sheltered island warehouses.

5 NATIVE COLOR

Creating a balanced whisky requires time and skill. However, creating the complex balance Highland Park is known for, also requires cask harmonisation. While most distilleries see this process as an extravagance, for Highland Park it’s a necessity. For every batch of Highland Park released, Gordon Motion, their master whisky maker, selects and marries up to 150 casks, leaving the newly combined whisky to rest for at least a month before bottling. During that critical resting period, flavours from the different casks combine and harmonise, achieving an intense balance that’s delivered through the whisky’s fully rounded flavour and long, satisfying finish. The process is much like leaving a hearty soup to simmer over a slow flame, giving the flavours time to come together and infuse.


THE HIGHLAND DISTILLERY

Highland Park single malt scotch whisky is made with centuries-old traditions in the stormy Orkney Islands. Atop Kirkwall, the distillery stands atop the high ground, boasting twenty-three historic stone warehouses and two traditional kilns. Since 1798, Highland Park has watched over its community through unforgiving winters, tumultuous storms and powerful winds to craft a harmonious whisky.

 

A place for magic to thrive and a haven of organic production for centuries, Highland Park considers themselves custodians of these timeless methods. Whether the mystery of the missing numbered warehouse will ever be revealed remains unanswered; however, what they do know is that time is only making their exquisitely aged whisky better.

 


VIKING HEART

This single malt whisky has a complex and rewarding flavour that is sure to delight. Notes of crème brulee, heather honey, and cinnamon will greet you on the nose, followed by fruity pineapple aromas blended with zesty lemon. Vanilla mingles with toasted cinnamon as other notes of sponge cake linger in the peat smoke.

 

Highland Park specially selected a ceramic decanter manufactured by Wade Ceramics to bottle their unique whisky. Established in 1810, Wade Ceramics utilises local raw materials and sustainable practices to craft their products. The lead-free porcelain decanter is 100% food safe and features the lion and serpent design found on many of Highland Park's glass bottles. On closer inspection, you can also find the heart motif at the back side of the bottle – this was what inspired the whisky’s name in the first place!