Highland Park was built by David Robertson way back in 1798. The distillery’s relationship with blenders, Robertson & Baxter, saw it acquired by Highland Distillers in 1937, which was subsequently bought by Edrington in 1999, who run it today. The modern Highland Park single malt brand was first officially bottled in the 1970s, with the release of an 8-year age statement, but distillery bottlings did not appear until around the 1950s. The brand’s appearance has changed many times over the years, but its cult following and popularity have never diminished. It remains one of the most recognizable single malts in the world to this day.
Despite producing occasional distillery bottlings for many years, Highland Park was one of several single malts that Highland Distillers licensed to Gordon & MacPhail, who produced semi-official bottlings in the 1960s. This long-standing relationship with the distillery has provided the company with a range of high-quality casks and subsequent high-quality releases over the years.
This whiskey was distilled in 1989 and aged in single refill ex-Sherry butt #10015 for 32 years before being bottled in December 2021.
The Connoisseurs Choice brand is one of the most recognizable independent bottlings on the market and this release follows the 2018 rejuvenation of the brand which saw it rebranded as a premium range of single casks.
One of 347 bottles.
Highland Park Vintage 1989 is a Scotch single malt whiskey from Gordon & MacPhail’s Connoisseurs Choice series. The whiskey was distilled 1/3 1989, and was bottled at cask strength 13/12 2021. It has thus spent 32 years in a refill sherry cask, which has given it a dark, beautiful color, while at the same time it has plenty of flavor of old, aged whiskey.
Colour: Dark amber.
Aroma: Fruity, with a little nutmeg, vanilla and light smoke with heather honey.
Tasting notes: The nose goes back into the taste, with a little butterscotch and spice, and lasts a long time.
Serving suggestion: Enjoy it plain, possibly with a few drops of water.
Gordon & MacPhail are to the noble single malt what Lennon & McCartney are to pop music. For more than 100 years, they have insisted on jumping over where the fence is highest. The inherited sense of selecting the absolute best casks from a wide range of distilleries is practiced today as it was 100 years ago. Once the dish is selected, it is transported to G&M’s warehouse in Elgin. Here the cask is looked after and cared for along with thousands of other selected casks until that day in the future, be it five, ten or fifty years down the line, when the whiskey has reached its zenith. Only here are the precious drops bottled.
