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Highland Park Distillery

Highland Park is the northern most single malt Scotch whisky distillery in the world, located in Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands off the far north coast of Scotland, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea.

But mostly Highland Park is known for their Viking heritage and this is what they are very proud of. Its shows in their history, bottles and their distillery. The rich history Highland Park has with the vikings are shown true-out their whisky releases and limited editions. From Viking warriors to Viking gods. Even their new designed bottles shows its beautiful rich history right on their bottle.

Highland Park is truly a one of a kind single malt whisky that you have to try once in your life. This single malt whisky is a great whisky is you want to start out with peated whiskies. Its PPM and peat flavor is just enough to get you started in the big world of peated/smoked whiskies.

Highland Park is the only distillery in the world to use peat from Orkney. Exposed to the elements, including gales, few trees survive Orkney’s harsh conditions. In the absence of trees, the peat the distillery burns to smoke its hand-malted barley is densely compacted heather dating back 4,000 to 9,000 years. This peat burns slowly, delivering the distinctive aromatic smoke for which the distillery is known.

The cask Highland Park use to mature their new make spirit in are a combination between of either American or European oak.

Sherry-seasoned oak casks: Between 60% and 80% of a whisky’s flavour comes the cask in which it matures. These are built by hand in Spain, filled with Oloroso sherry and left to season for two years. The casks are then emptied and sent to Orkney where they are filled with the new make spirit and left to mature for at least a decade – and up to five in the case of Highland Park 50 Year Old.

Owner

Edrington Group
Status

Operational
Country

Scotland
Region

Island (Orkney)
Production type:

Single Malt
Founded

1798
Production yearly

2.500.000 Liters

History

Highland Park distillery was founded by Magnus Eunson, a butcher and church officer by day and illicit distiller and whisky smuggler by night. In 1798 he was caught illegally distilling whisky on the site. In 1826, nearly 30 years later, Highland Park received an official license to distill whisky.

The name of the distillery does not refer to the area of Scotland known as The Highlands, but rather to the fact that the distillery was founded on an area called ‘High Park’ distinguished from a lower area nearby.

“Orkney lies outside the five major whisky making regions of Scotland and has only two distilleries – Speyside has 50, the Highlands have 33 and even Islay, covering roughly the same number of square miles as Orkney, has eight.”

Highland Park

Distillery Facts

All
Gallery Item

PPM:

10 PPM

New make pnenol level is less than 3 PPM

Spirit Stills:

2 with 9.000 liters of low wine added to the spirit still. The spirit still has a capacity of 12.000 liters. The spirit still has a onion shape.

Wash Still:

2 wash still with a capacity of 14.500 liters amount of was added to the still 18.000 liters. The shape of the wash still is a onion shape.

Water Source:

Crantit

Washbacks:

12 washbacks with a capacity of 36.000 liters, and a washback charge of 29.000 liters. Type of wash back used wood.

New Make Spirit:

70% ABV

Filling strength will be 69.5% abv

Warehouses:

23 warehouses with a capacity of around 45.000 barrels

Yeast type:

Kerry M & MX

Malt supplier:

Scottish grown, Scottish malted, Bairds, Crisp, Boortmalt.

Heat source:

Steam coils

Mash Tun:

The mash tun capacity is 110.000 and the type of mash tun used is a semi lauter.

Malt Floor

Highland park is one of a very few that still make partly use of it's own malting floor.

Taste profile

Medium bodied whisky with smoke influences.
Some sweetness, malty and honey expressions.
Hints of spices, fruity, nutty and floral.

Core range

Highland park has a core range whiskies that starts out with:

10 year old
12 year old
18 year old
21 year old
25 year old
30 year old
40 year old
50 year old

Then there are two more bottles

Magnus
Dragon legends

Want to read more about Highlands Park other bottles click more bottles

Viking Honor:

Orkney was once part of a vast Viking kingdom and the mythology of our ancient past was woven into our character and culture for hundreds of years, long before Highland Park was founded in 1798. From those Viking warriors who settled in our islands, we inherit integrity, bravery and independence. Today, we deliver those values here in our distillery, rather than on the battlefield.

Highland Park

Old and New bottles

In 2017 Highland Park started producing new bottles for their core range. slowly replacing the older bottles Highland Park use.

This old bottles where replaced by these new extraordinary beautiful designed bottles. These bottles are a real eye catcher. The whisky inside is still the same with the same alcohol strength.

Inspired by an ancient World Heritage Site in Scandinavia, whose Viking kingdoms once ruled Orkney, the heavily embossed bottle features an illustration of a Viking legend which depicts a lion locked in an enduring battle with the forces of evil in the form of Serpent-like dragons. The inspiration for the design came from an ancient Stavkirke or wooden church a world Heritage site in the Norwegian village of Ornes.

The new carton also depicts the lion and dragon legend with embossed metallic detailing while communicating the message “Made with Pride on Orkney” on the side.

Each variant has a sub-brand name – Viking Honour for the 12 Year Old and Viking Pride for the 18 Year Old – to give them a stronger identity and as a tribute to the pioneers who originally settled on Orkney.

Highland Park Store

Their store is in the heart of Kirkwall and does more than sell their award winning whiskies. It’s a place where you can get a true Orkney experience, learn more about their viking heritage, and experience first hand their viking harmony.

You can buy all kinds of Highland Park merchandise as well like winter jackets to summer t-shirts, umbrellas designed to brave even Orkney storms but also some of their great single malt whiskies.

THEIR ADRESS:

58 Albert Street,
Kirkwall KW15 1SU,
United Kingdom

SHOP OPENING TIMES

Monday: 10am – 5pm

Tuesday: 10am – 5pm

Wednesday: 10am – 5pm

Thursday: 10am – 5pm

Friday: 10am – 5pm

Saturday: 10am – 5pm

Highland Park Awards:

Highland Park is considered by whisky insiders one of the greatest single malts in the world. It has been named “The Best Spirit in the World” on three occasions by F. Paul Pacult, America’s foremost expert on distilled spirits. Highland Park has also performed well in international spirit ratings competitions. Its 25 Year Old whisky was the first spirit to ever receive a perfect 100-point score at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. In 2018, two of its special distillery releases, The Light and The Dark, were each awarded a Double Gold medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In 2019 and for the fourth year running, Highland Park took home the Ultimate Spirits Challenge’s top honour, the Chairman’s Trophy for Best in Category.

In 2018, Highland Park ranked second, behind sister distillery The Macallan, in whisky auction sales driven by growing demand from whisky collectors for the distillery’s special releases.

Distillery Tours

Viking Soul Tour & Viking Heroes Tour

A great introduction to Highland Park! You’ll start with a short film about Orkney, Highland Park and our Viking roots, followed by a tour of our working distillery and finishing with a tasting of two selected drams of Highland Park – 12 Year Old VIKING HONOUR and another of our HERO whiskies.

On our Viking Heroes Tour, you will sample four selected whiskies from the Highland Park range, including 12 Year Old VIKING HONOUR and 18 Year old VIKING PRIDE (named Best Spirit in the World in the Spirit Journal).

DURATION:

Viking Soul Tour: 1 hour

Viking Heroes Tour: 90 minutes

DRAMS

Viking Soul Tour: 2 drams

Viking Heroes Tour: 4 drams

COST

Viking Soul Tour £15 per person

Viking Heroes Tour £20 per person

Viking Harmony Tour

Join us for a tour of our working distillery, followed by an expertly tutored nosing and tasting of five single malts from our award winning range.

You’ll have the opportunity to purchase an exclusive single cask bottling (subject to availability) and, as a souvenir of your visit, you’ll receive your own tasting glass, a signed & framed certificate and a book about the history of our distillery.

DURATION:

About 2 hours

DRAMS

5 drams

COST

£60 per person

Orcadian Vintages Experience

Join us for an authentic behind-the-scenes tour of our distillery and an opportunity to see parts of the distillery not usually open to visitors. Sample whisky straight from the cask in our warehouse (when warehouse access allows) and meet the modern-day Viking descendants whose skill and dedication make Highland Park stand apart today.

You’ll be guided through a tutored tasting of four spectacular Highland Park Vintages – 1968, 1970, 1971 and 1976 as well as an exclusive single cask bottling in front of the open fire in our private Eunson Room. Following the tour, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase the single cask bottling (subject to availability) and, as a souvenir of your visit, you’ll receive your own tasting glass, a signed & framed certificate and a book about the history of our distillery.

DURATION:

About 3 hours

DRAMS

6 drams

COST

£325 per person

After the tour, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase an exclusive single cask bottling (subject to availability) and, as a souvenir of your visit, you’ll receive your own tasting glass, a signed & framed certificate and a book about the history of our distillery

Inner Circle

The inner circle will give you the oppertunitie to become part of the tribe of Highland Park. This will give you the oppertunitie to connect with uniting people with a passion for Highland Park whisky.

Also the following things will be only availible for the inner cirle:

The first to hear the latest news from our distillery
First in line for new whiskies we release, including INNER CIRCLE only bottlings
Invited to exclusive tastings and events
Given the opportunity to enter competitions and take advantage of special offers
A Highland Park pin.
A certificate that you are a member of the inner circle.