Highland Park 30 Years Old Silver Seal Wildlife Collection Cask 372 51% 1985

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (91)

Note by Angus MacRaild on whiskyfun.com:

Highland Park 30 yo 1985/2015 (51%, Silver Seal, cask 372, 215 bottles). I’m very pleased to be able to try a whisky distilled in my birth year that should be better than ‘utterly average’. Colour: White wine. Nose: green fruits, lime zest, chalk, ink, lemon rind, olive oil, a vibrant waxiness and some beautifully nervous fruity notes of lemon drops, lychee and apricot. With a little time some very delicate medical notes of cough syrup and throat lozenges emerge. With water: gets leafier and fruitier with water. Some pine resin and a little lemon icing. Mouth: Lots of orange oils, herbal liqueurs, jasmine tea, green olives, yellow flowers, white pepper - a rainbow whisky! More cough medicine, more subtle waxiness and some mustard notes. Feels mature but also wonderfully lively and sprightly for its age. With water: gets drier now, veering more towards pastries, fresh breads and dried herbs. Some black olives in olive oil and rosemary. Really works beautifully with water. Finish: Long, lemony, mineral, savoury and full of little pin sharp notes of fruits and soft peppery spice notes. Comments: Exemplary old HP, not such a peaty one but more towards fruits and spices over all. The perfect every evening dram. I am delighted to inform you that I love it!