Highland Park Magnus Single Malt Whisky 750ml

Highland Park Magnus single malt whisky, Orcadian peat was burned in the distillery’s own kiln. The resulting smokey malt constitutes about 20% of the barley used for each mash. All of the remaining unpeated mash was created on the mainland of Scotland.

This mild-mannered groom traveled up to Highland Park Magnus, where he was married successfully with his peaty Orcadian bride. The proud couple was then aged together in holy wedlock for an unspecified amount of time.

Smoked paprika, tar, and baked peach leap from the glass. The spirit shines through in the mouth, revealing fresh berry flavors then the smoke comes back and finally the nicely astringent finish cleans the palate for the next sip.

Magnus has been predominantly matured in seasoned sherry American oak casks. The Spanish sherry used to season our American Oak casks is released as some of the finest quality sherry or distilled further into exceptional brandies, which means the flavors imparted during the whisky maturation process are bold, fruity, and intense.

Nose:

Gentle peat, light lemon, and orange peel. Grapefruit. Deeper in the glass there’s a nice juicy tangerine note. Sweet, light, and with only an echo of floral Orkney peat.

Palate:

Thin body. Mild tongue burn. Somewhat sweet on the tongue – shortbread or biscuits. Very slightly acrid – charcoal maybe.

Finish:

Long Finish. The citrus peel returns, along with some bitter barrel tannin and rosewater. Fades slowly without added complexity.

OVERALL: It’s not the most robust Highland Park I’ve ever tried, but certainly presents a reasonable entry point to begin exploring the line. While they state that a ‘high proportion’ of first-fill Sherry seasoned American oak casks are used in the maturation, for my preferences, they didn’t use enough.