Highland Park Freya 15 Year Old Valhalla Collection

Tasting Notes

• Tasting Notes by Billy A

  • Nose

    Sweet butter icing, hints of coconut and cream, with something a little sour and slightly pungent hiding underneath - Sauvignon Blanc? Some gentle oaky notes develop in the glass along with lemon curd, nutmeg and apple skin.

  • Palate

    Yellow wine gums, sweet oak, oaky spice and some leafy green notes to start. Lots of woody flavours develop, with some darker notes hiding behind freshly sawn oak, bark and damp twigs. Over the top of all of that is a gentle, savoury wood smoke.

  • Finish

    Gentle spice, chamois leather, coal dust and lingering fruitiness and perfumed oak.

  • Comment

    More smoke than I expect and more weight. It's quite fresh, with good, fruity notes, but also has a solid backbone of oak. I wouldn't have picked it out as a Highland Park, other than the finish, which has the lingering, perfumed oak that they do so well.

• Tasting Notes by Rocky L

  • Nose

    Fruit-forward nose of green apple, lemon peel and cantaloupe melon backed up by a whack of sweet vanilla and a hint of peat smoke in the background.

  • Palate

    Vanilla and green apple notes that were present on the nose continue and are joined by marmalade, cinnamon spice and a good amount of peat smoke, but not too much as to overpower the rest of the flavours.

  • Finish

    A warming finish with the fruitiness slowly dissipating to leave the cinnamon and peat smoke at the very end.

  • Comment

    A well balanced whisky with the fruit and smoke nicely intertwined.

• Producer's Notes

  • Colour

    The Fair One, golden.

  • Aroma

    Almond and Madagascan vanilla shimmer in the distance like the Aurora Borealis. White chocolate followed by candied cherries makes way for a vibrant wave of mango and melon, riding upon a cloud of cream soda.

  • Taste

    The heart of this whisky shines like a jewel, surrounded by fragrant peat. Orange peel, butterscotch and rose petals provide the sweetness along with orange blossom and ginger. Lively popping candy, lemongrass and tropical fruits are lightly shrouded in peat smoke.

  • Finish

    Complex and beautiful, yet balanced and considered like Freya herself, the finish gives lingering spice and soft peat smoke intertwined with soft orchard fruits, toasted coconut and a light char, providing a rounded depth and allowing this whisky to soar.