Distillery in Focus: Highland Park
Region: Highlands (Islands)
Name: Highland Park Distillery.
Status: Active
Website: http://www.highland.park.co.uk
Telephone: 01856874619
E-Mail: distillery@highlandpark.co.uk
Address: Holm road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1SU
Visitor centre: Yes
Owner: Edrington Group Ltd.
Established in 1798 (license acquired in 1825)
Stills: 2 Wash and 2 Spirit stills.
Percentage of single malts: 40%
Casks used for maturation are sherry and bourbon.
Contribute(d) to the following blends: Famous Grouse, Long John and Cutty Sark
Regular Bottling:
Highland Park 12 YO 40% (100% Sherry, 20% first fill)
Highland Park 15 YO 40% (75% first fill bourbon)
Highland Park 16 YO 40%
Highland Park 18 YO 43% (100% sherry, 35-45% first fill)
Highland Park 25 YO var% (100% Sherry, 50% first fill)
Highland Park 30 YO 48.1% (15-20% bourbon)
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| The standard labels of the 12, 18 and 25 YO Highland Park bottlings. These labels were changed at the end of 2006. | Some limited editions of Highland Park (from left to right): The Ambassador Cask 2 (10 YO), The Highland Park St-Magnus (12 YO) and the special bottling for Switzerland (15 YO Dark Oloroso). |
In addition to the "standard" range, Highland Park has released some limited editions such as Highland Park 1977 bicentenary 40%, Highland Park 1974 online tasting, Highland Park 1958 40YO 44% and several single casks bottling such as Ambassador Cask 1 and 2.
Highland Park is the most northern distillery in activity. It is also one of the rare distilleries to use hard water. However, in the future, the most northern distillery will be Blackwood in Shetlands once the production will start.
History of Highland Park
There are two version of the founding of the distillery:
1) The distillery was built in 1798 by Magnus Eunson or 2) The distillery was built in 1795 by David Robertson. Richard McKay owned the distillery between 1825 and 1826. In 1826 the distillery changed of ownership to John Robertson and Robert Borwick. Robertson sold the distillery to his partner, Robert Borwick and family, in 1830. George Borwick, the son of Robert, took over the distillery between 1852 and 1860. In the 1860s, when the distillery passed to Revd. James Borwick, the distillery was evaluated to just over £100. Owning a distillery was a morale conflict for James who sold the distillery to Mitchell and Eunson who sold in 1867 the distillery to the brokers Stuart and Mackay for £450. In 1868, the distillery was acquired by William Stuart and the assests were transferred to William Stuart, Stuart and Grant in 1878. In 1895, the distillery was acquired by James Grant of Glenlivet, who sold it to the Highland Distillers in 1937 for £185’000. The capacity of the production was increased in 1898 when two stills where added to the first two. The Edrington Group took over the distillery in November 1999, when Edrington acquired Highland Distillers plc. The production for 2006 is 2.1 mio LPA and for 2007, the plan is 2.3 mio LPA (the maximal capacity for the distillery).
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| Between 15 and 20% of all the barley used at Highland Park is produced on tradional floor maltings. | |
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| The kiln N°1 where the peat is burnt to give the peaty and smoky flavour to the barley. | Kiln N°2 filled with coke to finish the kilning of the barley |
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| The still house with two wash stills and 2 spirit stills. | Some old casks of Highland Park stored in traditional dunnage. |
For more photos of the Highland Park distillery, click here.
Source: www.highlandpark.co.uk, Distillery Visit, The Scotch Whisky Book by T. Bruce-Gardyne, The Making of Scotch Whisky by JR Hume and MS Moss, and The Scotch Whisky Distilleries by Misako Udo.
©P.Brossard 09 Nov 06.
| Official/Original bottlings (OB) | |
| Age | |
| Highland Park 15 YO, OB, 59.8% Cask 7473 for Switzerland | Rating; 16/20  |
| Highland Park 21 YO "Duty Free", 47.9%, OB, B: 2008 | Rating: 17/20 |
| Highland Park 25 YO, OB, 48.1%, B: 2007 | Rating; 16/20 |
| Highland Park 30 YO, OB, 48.1%. B:2005 | Rating: 13/20  |
| Vintages | |
| Highland Park 1990 for Travel Retail, OB, 40%, B: 2010 | Rating: 15/20 |
| Highland Park 1990 Single Cask for Maxxium Netherlands, 16 YO, 58.7%, B: 2006, c. 5831, 1272 b. | Rating: 13/20 |
| Highland Park 1994 for Travel Retail, OB, 40%, B: 2010 | Rating: 12/20 |
| Highland Park 1998 for Travel Retail, OB, 40%, B: 2010 | Rating: 11/20 |
| Non Specified | |
| Highland Park ESC III for Switzerland, OB, 59%, B: 2007 | Rating: 15/20 |
| Highland Park Earl of Magnus, 15 YO, OB, 52.6%, B:2009, 5976 b. | Rating: 17/20 |
| Highland Park 12 YO Saint Magnus Edition 2, OB; 55.0%, B: 2010 | Rating: 08/20  |
| Highland Park Hjärta, OB, 12 YO, 58.1%, B: 2009. 3924 b. | Rating: 15/20 |
| Independent bottlings (IB) and "anonymous Highland Park" | |
| Adelphi | |
| Highland Park 1992, 13 YO, Adelphi, 65.2% | Rating: 14/20 |
| Alchemist (The) | |
| Highland Park 15 YO, The Alchemist, 46%, B: 2008 | Rating: 12/20 |
| Cadenhead's (inlcuding Duthie's) | |
| Highland Park 1978, Duthie's, 46%, B: 1993 | Rating: 15/20 |
| Douglas Laing | |
| Highland Park 1972 OMC, 27 YO, D. Laing, 50%, B: 1999, 315 b | Rating: 16/20 |
| Duncan Taylor | |
| Highland Park 1966, 40 YO, D. Taylor, 40.7%, B: 2006, c. 4630 | Rating: 17/20 |
| Highland Park 1966 for the Whisky Fair, 38 YO, D. Taylor, 42.4%, , B: 2005, 168 bottles | Rating: 16/20 |
| Gordon & MacPhail | |
| Highland Park MacPhails, 30 YO, G&M, 43%, B:2006 | Rating: 18/20  |
| Highland Park 1995, G&M, 57.9%, B: 2006, c. 1329, 307 b. | Rating: 14/20 |
| Jack Wiebers | |
| Highland Park 1981 Scottish Castle, 25 YO, JWWW, 52.8%, cask 6064 | Rating: 17/20 |
| Murray McDavid | |
| Highland Park 1989 Bourbon/ Grenache, 17 YO, MMD, 46% | Rating: 10/20 |
| Scott's selection | |
| Highland Park 1975, 25 YO, Scott’s selection, 52%, B: 2000 | Rating: 14/20 |
| Highland Park 1986, Scott’s selection, 55.3%, B: 2005 | Rating: 12/20 |
| Signatory | |
| Highland Park 1990, 13 YO, Signatory, 56.5%, Cask 15690 | Rating: 11/20 |
| Highland Park SFTC, 19 YO, Signatory, 53.5%. B:2004 | Rating: 13/20 |
| Silver Seal (Sestante) | |
| Highland Park 1992, 18 YO, Silver Seal, 53.1%, B: 2010 | Rating: 17/20 |
| Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) | |
| Highland Park 4.104 1974, 32 YO, SMWS, 51.4%, B: 2006. | Rating: 18/20 |
| The Whisky Agency | |
| Highland Park 1977, 33 YO, TWA, 52.3%, B: 2010, 193 b. | Rating: 17/20 |
| Highland Park 1984 Bugs, 27 YO, TWA, 52.5%, B: 2011 | Rating: 15/20 |