Highland Park – the two-century-plus-year-old Scotch distillery on Orkney’s wild shores – has once again delved into its extensive archive and released its oldest whisky yet: the Highland Park 56.
Selected from a never-before-tasted 1968 cask that master whisky maker Gordon Motion selected in 2008, the release marks one of the distillery’s rarest whiskies. The liquid underwent a final ageing in first-fill sherry seasoned butts: “The second maturation has allowed me to push them even further and I know we’ve created something special,” said Motion. “It’s exciting to share the 56 for the first time.”
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While the Highland Park 56 still has plenty of the peaty smoke for which the distillery is so well known (it exclusively uses Orkney peat; “If there’s no Orkey peat, there’s no Highland Park,” according to Motion), there’s a degree of subtly. Soapy jasmine and pine on the nose lead to vibrant citrus on the palette.
“What excites me most about the 56 whisky is that it has both complexity and vibrancy, even after all these years, the distinctive character of Highland Park’s Orkney heathered-peat stands out,” Motion added.
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“There isn’t the intense woodiness that I’d typically expect to taste in a whisky of this age. The 56 has all the complexity and depth you’d expect of an aged whisky, but you can absolutely taste the distinctive, subtle smoke of our Orkney heathered peat.”
The rare liquid is housed in an ornate glass decanter, inspired by Orkney’s Standing Stones of Stenness. Thought to be the earliest henge monument on the British Isles (meaning they outdate the far more famous Stonehenge) the standing stones were erected over 5,000 years ago.
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Tasked with capturing their majesty and replicating it in glass bottle form were master crafters John Galvin and Michael Rudak. According to glass designer Rudack, the stones’ “stature encourages and inspires you to walk around them, exploring their texture and history”.
“We brought that sentiment through into the decanter design. The silhouette isn’t a direct replica, but the feeling is the same. The form is purposely designed to look strong and proud, but it has been softened and dimpled to represent warmth and elegance. The organic irregular textures evoke the powerful water that’s helped shape Orkney’s natural landscape and resources.”
Just 170 bottles are available, each priced at a substantial £40,000 (approx. $49,000).
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