Highland Park 12: a great single malt

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komondor

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Jul 2, 2001
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Yum. Has anyone tried this wonderful Scotch? It's a nice Island malt with a bit of smokiness to it, a characteristic you would more commonly associate with the Islays. Just a bit, though.

Nutty, smoky and very smooth. And a short finish.

This is considered a very good all around 12 yr old, both smooth, sweet, and of course, the smokiness; and many consider a great stepping stone to the more complex and hard core Islay malts.

It's my second bottle of Scotch. The 1st one was The Macallan 12, and I enjoyed that one, too. I like this one better, though.

I highly recommend it. My next bottle will be Balvenie 12, as I hear that is an excellent all arounder as well.
 
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komondor said:
My next bottle will be Balvenie 12, as I hear that is an excellent all arounder as well.
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Highland Park is excellent. And you are going to LOVE the Balvenie 12, that is the well scotch in my house.
 
I love Highland Park 12, it is my favorite Scotch.
It's funny that it's not more popular.
Good find.

pete
 
Another vote for Balvenie...delicious in all of its guises and ages.

AJ
 
+1 on the Balvenie. It is one of my favorites.

And thanks for recommending the Highland Park. I will give it a try.

If you like some peat and smoke, you may also enjoy Laphroaig. It is smooth and peaty.
 
TrailingEdge said:
Laphroaig
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The best description of Laphroaig I ever heard was "the Listerine of single-malt scotches."

The second best description of it I ever heard was from their own ads, "You'll either love it or you'll hate it... but you won't know until you're at least halfway through your first bottle."

I keep a bottle of it on hand because there are folks who swear by it. And I take a nip of it myself once a year; I do this to remind myself why I only take a nip of it once a year.

Vile stuff, IMHO, vile.

But, I do understand that some people like it.
 
Speaking of Laphroaig, when it comes to the smoky Islays, most people swear by the Lagavulin.

I'm not sure if I would like those, but I will try one of them soon enough.

Highland Park: I think this Scotch is so underrated because it doesn't have enough of an exotic sounding Scotch name. It sounds more like an American wine or the local downtown hangout. But it's great.

Just tried the Balvenie. I can see what all the fuss is about. It's smooth and even. However, it's pretty sweet. I don't know how much I like that characteristic. No compelling aftertaste.

Wow, smooth and round. Quite good. Not too complex, but definitely a nice drinking Scotch.
 
I just tried the Lagavulin (16). It's quite nice. Now that is an interesting malt. Smoke and peat with a very long finish that almost borders on bitter. It is really smooth, however.

Wow. A bit of cracker brings out the sea: a brinyness that is noticeable but classy. Tastes like a crab cake. Some fruits in there, too.

This is nice. But at $70 a bottle it is not to be enjoyed too often.
 
Gollnick said:
The best description of Laphroaig I ever heard was "the Listerine of single-malt scotches."

The second best description of it I ever heard was from their own ads, "You'll either love it or you'll hate it... but you won't know until you're at least halfway through your first bottle."

I keep a bottle of it on hand because there are folks who swear by it. And I take a nip of it myself once a year; I do this to remind myself why I only take a nip of it once a year.

Vile stuff, IMHO, vile.

But, I do understand that some people like it.
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But, as you say, there are those of us who like it. Count me as one.
 
I prefer the Lavagulin 16 to the Laphroaig
Highland Park 12 is in my cabinet, too.
I'm out of the Balvenie double cask - need more.
Used to be able to find Dalmore "cigar malt" - I loved it for the extreme maltiness without bitterness. Guess they changed the name to "Grand Reserve"
 
knarfeng said:
But, as you say, there are those of us who like it. Count me as one.
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That's fine. I encourage it.











It just leaves more of the good stuff for the rest of us. :D



Seriously, single-malts are really a matter of taste and you should drink what you like.
 
I have a bottle of dalwhinnie 15 that i'm very fond of, very smooth. Lagavulin reminds me of an uncle who past, he and my dad got me onto the scotch. funny the things a glass of good scotch can make you think of.
 
To my taste, Lagavulin is like Laphroaig... only without the pleasant qualities.

Both of these are Islay scotches. Islay is a region in Scotland is a style of scotch. These are very strongly flavored and very polar. They are very peaty, salty, medicinal, iodiney. You either really love 'em or you really don't.

I strongly discourage them for "beginners." Women tend not to be as attracted to them. I am told that they go well with cigars. I think everyone should try them for sure. I do make a point of revisiting th about once a year to broaden my experience base. But I don't regularly drink them.
 
Seems like more often than not, when I log in here it ends up costing me. Usually for knives, I never expected it to be for booze. But, after reading this thread, I was compelled to acquire a bottle of The Balvenie 12 to try. It goes for about $51 here, it was on sale for $47, and at this price it is at the limit of what I feel I can justify for a special spirit. It is truly as excellent as you all have said, I have another favorite to go along with my Highland Park. Thanks for the heads up on this one, and cheers.

pete
 
Gollnick said:
To my taste, Lagavulin is like Laphroaig... only without the pleasant qualities.

Both of these are Islay scotches. Islay is a region in Scotland is a style of scotch. These are very strongly flavored and very polar. They are very peaty, salty, medicinal, iodiney. You either really love 'em or you really don't.
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Hi Gollnick, don't know if you're still around on this thread, but don't these styles break down according to altitude also. Highland Park being a Highland style Scotch, while the Peaty Islays are more from the lowlands?

pete
 
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