Highland Park 21

Highland Park, or HP as its known to those of us who are in the know, is perhaps everyone's all-around favorite whisky. From the 12 on up, it's hard to argue against HP. For a while, before it was discovered by the world-wide scotch market, HP 18 was by far and away the absolute best buy for a premium whisky. Unfortunately, the secret is out, and a bottle of 18 will now set one back about a hundred dollars, or bones, or clams, or whatever you call them. Even at that price, the 18 is still a great malt. And as for the 25 and the 30 (which I've only tasted a couple times, but which can be found in a particular apartment overlooking Biscayne Bay), forget about it!

This year, I obtained a bottle of HP 21 for the annual Whisky Lovers Ball. It came to me courtesy of singlemaltsdirect.com, whom I am happy to plug here at MannyMontaigne for no reason other than the fact that they sell awesome malts for reasonable prices, and have the most obliging and helpful staff one can imagine. It was difficult to keep the 21 closed up in the liquor cabinet for a few months as we awaited the Ball, but I hid it away, out of sight, and managed not to succumb to temptation in the meantime. So anyway, here are the notes on Highland Park 21.

HP 21 - 47.5%. I'm no good at discerning all the flavors in the nose, and really, for a rich malty scotch, who cares. So forget about the nose. The first impression, the first distinctive impression, is a luxurious mouthfeel as soon at the malt hits the tongue. I'm big on the texture of whisky, and this malt has a soft buttery feel to it. Then the flavor, clearly Highland Park, which combines the full flavor of a rich highland malt with a touch of peat from the Islands. In ways, I think that combination goes a long way toward explaining why HP is the perfect all around scotch. But then, what sets this malt apart from its younger brethren is the richness of its flavor -- it's deeper, or bigger, or however you care to explain it, than the 15 or the 18. And the extra few years in the barrel have taken all the roughness out of its edges. I mean, smooth. Like velvet, like glass, like a baby's bottom. Lastly, there is that long long finish. That's what one pays for in whiskies older than 18 years. It's all about the finish, and how you can taste the whisky for five minutes after you've swallowed it. Holy cow!! I think I need to go downstairs and pour another dram. I mean, just to check it out again, and make sure the notes are accurate. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Not surprisingly, HP 21 was one of the stars of the Whisky Lovers Ball. I had a number of good malts, really good malts, in the after-dinner selection. But most everyone went for the HP, with good reason. And that reminds me -- I think I need to head back to Miami.