Highland Park 18yr Old

[GateToWire]

I am brand new to the forum and relatively new to Whisky.

I have purchased a number of bottles across the flavor chart and I really like the range of flavors from Glenkinchie to Dalhwinnie to Glenmorangie to Old Pulteney to Highland Park and all of the Islay Peats.

Looking at picking up a Highland Park 18 yr old. I have heard that this offering can really differ based on different bottling. Has anyone experienced this? Are there bad versions of HP 18? If so, how do I tell if I am buying a good bottling?

Thanks
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Mike

[opelfruit]

HP 18 is bottled in smaller batches and the smaller a batch of whisky the bigger the chance of variation between batches. With a big batch any dodgy barrels are lost in the melee, but if there are less barrels per batch then the chance of a duff cask showing through in the final bottling is higher.

Purchasing blind (Internet, supermarket etc) then there is no way of knowing. You would have to sample on at a specialist and then buy a bottle from them in the same batch.


I've only had 2 bottles, the first was very good and the 2nd was very average....if not totally nondescript....and it put me off so I've not gone back to it. I know people who swear by it and have never had a less then great bottles.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[sorren]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, although I've only had 3 bottles they were all very good, I would think there are more good batches than bad, and remember what one person thinks is bad you might not, palates are different, but welcome and just enjoy your experiences .. It's all about the journey.. And it's a long long way 😀

[ralfy legend]

If you are knew to whisky is highland park 18 to brave for u to try early into your adventure??

[Fergie]

I have never experienced a poor batch of Highland Park 18 and i have had many bottles, for me the 12 year old has differed more over the years with the peat level varying but even that didnt make it a bad batch just different and perhaps a little disappointing in terms of what i was expecting.

[GateToWire]

[Quaich1]

I've had HP 18 at so many tastings and my own bottle long finished. My first experiences with this dram were heavy on almost overpowering salty notes and as I got used to it over some years, the quality behind these noted started to appear to me. It's one of the few drams that I had to really give extra effort to enjoy. I can say that the basic profile of all the HP18 drams I've had from many tastings is the same without much variation. I much prefer the HP 30 which is a superb dram.
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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[GateToWire]

[sorren]

It's always nice to step up the ladder but don't discount some younger expressions, some independent bottlers have some really good younger whiskys which offer a good challenge, but I guess it's probably harder to find good ones... Anyway enjoy your hp18 😊

[GateToWire]

[opelfruit]

On the plus side they do make good cookies in Maryland
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[Mr C]

[Whisky Dog]

I think Highland Park are pretty consistent with quality these days, i am a big fan of the HP 18 and i would recommend it if you enjoyed the HP 12 year old

[Samson]

Highland Park 18 IMO is amongst the best whiskies i have tasted and i have not tasted a poor batch.

[Mr C]