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Highland Park 12 Year Old remains one of the gold- standard malts for other distillery bottlings to aspire to. With a delicious sweetness (heather-honey is their preferred description) and a warming, silky mouthfeel, this is a whisky that never lets you down. "The greatest all-rounder in the world of malt whisky". Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion
Style
- Body
- Richness
- Smoke
- Sweetness
Character
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Heather
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Brine
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Smoke
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Honey
Highland Park 12 Year Old Reviews
Tasting Notes
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Tasting Notes by Billy A
Nose: Salted lemons, a whiff of charcoal smoke, crunchy green apples, tropical fruit chews, unripe mango, beeswax, honey, dusty wood and fruity dark chocolate – maybe chocolate limes? It develops in the glass, picking up more fruit and slowly cutting the citrus notes.
Palate: Starts off with syrup sweetness, quickly moving on to sour and creamy wood, with more tropical chews, pineapple and smoked orange rind.
Finish: Smoky wood, malt syrup, green pine cones and woody spice.
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Tasting Notes by Gavin D Smith for Whisky Advocate
Highland Park 12 Year Old boasts individuality and complexity, thanks in part to the use of Orcadian peat in the distillery floor maltings and the employment of ex-sherry casks for maturation. The nose is fragrant and floral, with hints of heather and some spice. Smooth and honeyed on the palate, with citrus fruits, malt, and distinctive tones of wood smoke in the warm, lengthy, slightly peaty finish.
90 Points
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Producer's Tasting Notes
Colour: Glowing amber.
Aroma: Heather-honey sweetness; peaty smokiness.
Taste: Rounded smoky sweetness, full malt delivery.
Finish: Teasing, heathery, delicious.
144 Customer Reviews
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I can't understand why people say this is different to the old bottling. I did a side by side blind tasting old v new same glasses same temperature and couldn't tell the difference.
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This used to be a great whisky. Now it's watery, a shadow of its former self.
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Excellent whisky.
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There's some smoke but it's nicely balanced with liquorice and sweeter elements as well. However, it's the heather influence that really gives it the wow factor. A great entry level offering, really well rounded.
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This is a nice whisky for those who enjoy the peated whiskys. Although I did really enjoy this, it was honestly difficult to recognize any others tastes, I only did after the 3rd or 4th glass. Despite this it is still a great whisky. I wouldn't recommend it for people who are only just getting into whisky, but would highly recommend it for people who enjoy peated whiskies. Plus, you cannot beat the awesome runic bottle design. Great for decoration.
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Beautiful full body, after taste of burnt matches, peaty with a salty edge. Lovely drink, step up from some Irish whiskey I've been trying.
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I agree that it doesn't seem as good as the old HP 12, which, as Michael Jackson said, was truly the best all-rounder. It seems to have lost most of its peatiness. A delicious licorice aftertaste, with the pineapple edge noted elsewhere. Still interesting, not quite as awesome.
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I have been sipping this fine malt (always neat in a glencairn glass) for a little over a year & let me tell you the 'old' bottling (which ive been through 3 bottles) tastes exactly the same as the 'Viking honor"(currently halfway through one of the new bottles). Im from north america and for me its 43% abv. The nose: its very complex with it starting very sweet, lots of sherried fruits of honeyed pears/red apple mixed with that classic highland park orkney peat so sweet & mild, friendly and inviting and also has a spicy character of cinnamon, a very pretty nose. The palate: very sweet sherry arival reminds me of a candy honey, very fruity, the smoke is definitely there but its not nearly as smokey as other island whiskys or islays, the cinnamon spice can be mistaken for alcohol burn or being "rough" on the throat, but it is a complex spice that finishes dry, so its typical to drink water alongside your dram. The finish is long, dry, sweet & smokey. My favorite scotch, the first whisky i really shined up to, it is for sure a journey to sip this dram because what you eat makes a big difference, i will also get a big salt flavor and sometimes caramel it will change every day and that makes it very interesting detecting different flavors while you enjoy a glass. Its sweet & smokey with very rich spices, this is the bottle that features all of what scotish whisky has to offer, the very best.
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Opened my first bottle of the Viking Honor 12 yr after having been a regular consumer of the older bottled 12 yr. What happened? I can barely finish my first glass and thought perhaps my taste buds were off or I had a bad bottle.. Until seeing these other bad reviews...I guess that's just the way it is now. It's so bland and light, with a super sharp alcohol finish. What a waste of money.. Stay away if you liked the previous version
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On the contrary, I think all but new whisky drinkers will be disappointed. This represents a continual decline in Highland Park. Also, I think Gavin Smith's review to the left is based on an older UP. Either way, this is cloying and boring, with very little of the delicate peat and Heather notes of old. Docking another point for the dreadful, misjudged packaging and concept. Hope one day they go back to basics.
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Phenomenal dram! Try it out, you won’t be disappointed!
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One of the worst malts I've had over the last years. This was a huge let down. If you liked the old HP12 you will hate this one. I think it's the worst possible option for the money and you're better off buying a Glenmorangie or even a simple Glen Grant 10. The nose is nice, palate is average and lacks complexity and the aftertaste... well... I decided to have a snickers bar afterwards to get rid of it. It's like burnt wood together with old car tyres...
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Many reviews here say the new 12 year old is not a patch on the old 12year old. My taste buds must be shot because in a blind tasting comparison I couldn't tell the difference between the two. Shop around and you will get it for ?25 which is excellent value for what it is. I do agree they are overselling the Viking "link" and the bottle is very pretty but I don't buy a whisky for its packaging.
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I really don't know what the bad reviews are in aid of here? Perhaps these people know more? Perhaps they are used to drinking expensive single malts? But for a ?30 ish 70cl bottle this really is quite a pleasant scotch. Admittedly I am not a massively experienced whiskey drinker but I have been getting into it more this past year. I currently have this bottle in my cupboard and prior to that I had a bottle of Monkey Shoulder (which was very nice). But I feel that this single malt is a very worthy follow up and I will enjoy every drop of it.
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A smooth and easy drinking Whiskey. I get a smell of Apple and freshly cut grass, A good start, initial taste of honey. The after taste is a Alcohol fume which is not unpleasant. It is a very easy drinking whiskey but the promised Paetiness never comes through. I bought this for the Paetiness however I am not disappointed with the lack of it because it is a well rounded drink and will buy again understanding that it is not peaty.
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Over rated from past and appears to have been finally found out. Artificial apple syrup. So many other readily available malts at around this price.
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Great!
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Very disappointed – the smell is awful, like cheap whiskey, worse than Bell's. Save your money – don't buy.
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No nose or mouthfeel, unless you count alcohol. People that don't like whisky will be able to drink this because it doesn't taste of anything.
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Not bad for a 12 yr old, but seriously not a patch on 18yr old... It's like comparing Talisker 10 to the 18 – one very superior to other – but a good introductory dram, and by 12 yr old standards, rather nice!
