123 Customer Reviews

• 5
  Hanimo 1 June

  So, this review is for a bottle of pre-"Viking Honour" Highland Park 12 I found at a local gourmet shop. I assume it had been sitting there for awhile since "Viking Honour" seems to be the current bottling in circulation. So lucky me to pick up the older bottling of this legendary scotch for a taste! Really love the honey-fruit smell. The peatiness is not obvious at first but a definite smokiness comes after getting into a few sips. The mouthfeel is a little thin but the flavors are sweet and syrupy without being overly saccharine. This bottle of HP 12 is definitely well balanced and thoroughly enjoyable. I suppose eventually I'll have to compare it to the current bottling on the market now... hopefully it's not as disappointing as people say.

• 1
  Anonymous 21 April

  I didn't know what happened before reading these reviews. I'm someone who likes variety, and yet I would often fall back on HP 12 year. It was by far my favorite. I recommended it to friends. I've tried the latest batch and will likely never buy again and retract recommendations. I used to like to take a small sip, let it sit on my tongue, and revel in the many nuanced and delicious flavors. Now it smells like some hard liquor one would find at a frat party. The taste bites of alcohol with a slightly unpleasant flavor, and little to no finish.

• 4
  LOKNES 6 April

  Second bottle review. I reviewed this back in October, just bought a second bottle of this so that tells you something. This is a great scotch at a great price here in Ontario Canada. I would give it 4.5 stars, 43% ABV, great nose and palate. A must try for sure, one or the best values out there.

• 3
  Thomo 31 March

  I like sweet whisky but this is sickly sweet and smells of artificial apple. Not bad at all though as has strong and interesting taste .

• 5
  Euan Donegan 29 March

  Beautiful single malt I`ve ever had and will buy from now on

• 5
  Lucas 26 March

  I’ve only been a Scotch drinker for a few years now. I have tried several different single malts from each of the regions. This is currently my daily evening dram. Just the right amount of smoothness and smoke at a good price. Highly recommend for someone who wants a little more flavor out of their Scotch.

• 4
  RikS 21 March

  This is not bad at all. It's a 'classic' with a slight smokiness and round nose and palate, a bit short on the finish but it's 40%.

• 5
  Anonymous 17 March

  Everything about this scotch whisky is brilliant! The smells is very complex the taste has a nice kick to it enough to be enjoyable and the finish consists of smoky wood and smoky spice, brilliant!

• 1
  Anonymous 9 March

  What have they done? Compared to the standard 12yo, this tastes watered down, with hardly any body or nose. The Vikings have lost any honour with this revamp, style over substance, and ruined one of my favourites. Next time I'm in Kirkwall I'll tell them so in person.

• 5
  George Forward 4 March

  Have tried a limited amount of whiskey being a 25 year old. But for me this is amazing. Of the nose i could tell this would taste like something id enjoy, damp wooded smokiness invited me for a try. A very smooth non intrusive sweet and fruitiness taste almost a honey lemon without the bitterness. To finish a taste of smokiness and wood that you can enjoy for a while before going in for another taste. I think the low ratings are from those with a good knowledge and experience of whiskey drinking. For an amature this is spot on and an actual joy to drink!

• 5
  H 25 February

  5 Star Whisky!

• 3
  Anonymous 21 February

  The last time I tried this was about 6 years ago, long before the beautiful packaging upgrade. There is More peat than I remember...reminds me of Bowmore 12? But it does. The sherry influence is also evident. I think it’s good, not amazing. A solid dram.

• 2
  Gerrard 11 February

  Felt in a bit of rut as I grabbed another bottle of Laphroiag. Very disappointed, especially since I paid $10 more for this. It's not terrible, but I'd feel better if I bought a bottle of Teachers. I don't know what the old bottling of HP12 might have been, but I'll never try this again, not if I'm buying.

• 5
  T. Farrar 10 February

  This is from an English man. I've tried several whiskeys but this by far the best I've tasted. Nectar of the gods!

• 2
  Timbuque 26 January

  Heartsick for the old version. I had both over Christmas - the old followed but the new. Sorry HP, I'm moving on.

• 3
  Claude 17 January

  It's fair to say that this is easy to drink. That's about all I can say. It's not complex, or challenging, or even that enjoyable.. it's totally middle of the road. Therefore: 2.5/5.

• 2
  Anonymous 9 January

  I bought two bottles before Christmas. I looked up these reviews to see if I had bought duff bottles! Highland Park was a favourite of mine, but my first thought was that someone may have tampered with the first bottle.

• 2
  Momoglub 3 January

  I'm really saddened by this release - and sorry if this review is similar to others here, but it must be said. The old HP 12yr was a beautiful and sophisticated arrangement of sweet and smoke. This "Viking Honor" is NOT that. The palette is similar to the old bottling, but the nose is immature, and the finish is just completely absent. It's weird - I've never had a scotch that disappears like this one. I'm pretty sure the description being used here (e.g. "gold standard") is for the old bottling. Beware HP fans.

• 1
  Deva 2 January

  HP 12 used to be my fav value all rounder malt. Just got a bottle of the new 'Viking' 12 yo and it is nothing like the whisky I used to know. It has a rough hard alcohol edge now despite being 40%, it has more smoke than old too (fashion or something else going on?), but that is mixed with a sulphur tinge indicating poor barrels in there somewhere. Was HP 12 a victim of its own deserved success? Have standards been dropped to keep pace with demand? If so they should have given it a break until they could have been sure that what was going into the bottles was worthy of the name. The bottle is very nice btw, but sadly not the content anymore. It is a similar alteration for the worse that we had with Black Bottle blended, once one of the best blends, now meh, and meh is a suitable word for this misnamed 'Viking Honour'.

• 5
  Anonymous 21 December 2017

  Really fresh, creamy, floral sweetness, citrus, honey, fresh lawn maybe, perhaps scorched fresh orange oil (like when garnishing a Cosmopolitan), agave syrup maybe, light smokiness with a lovely pepper and spice finish.. Very nice Island malt, opens up lovely with a few drops of water.