Review
206
3/14/14
Highland
Park Loki 15 Year: 48.7% abv
Background: This is
a pretty special review for the KCM crew here. This is the first time we’re
reviewing a truly limited edition bottling, albeit this is limited edition in
the sense that there was a bottle of whisky that came before it and one that’ll
come after it, and they’ll be presented the same, but they’ll be
different…somehow. So you might call this a “vintage release without the
vintage”. Highland Park Loki is part of their Valhalla collection. The whisky
is at least 15 Years old, and bottled at almost 49%, which is a nice thing
considering how much you pay for the whisky. Highland Park spends their time
telling you about Loki in Norse mythology and how it relates to the whisky, but
I’m not going to do that. What I’ll do is tell you how this is a 15 Year whisky
at $275 a bottle. Obviously you’ll be wondering, why would I pay that kind of
money for such a young whisky?
Straight
Nose: The
Highland Park Loki starts off in the nose with a battle between a huge
fruitiness and a coastal saltiness. The fruitiness is consistent of HP classic
orange marmalade, citrus, green grapes, blueberry, dark cherry and other
tropical fruits like bananas. There is a complex oak and malt, coupled with
creamy vanilla and custard. This whisky also brings out spicy notes of chai
tea, clove and allspice. The whisky also has a profound, deep floral smell to
it. In additional, cinnamon apple contributes to a smell of both spiciness and
sweet fruitiness. There is a very green, earthly aroma that presents itself in
the nose as well. It is almost a mossy type aroma that comes through.
Arrival: There
is a lot of malt in the arrival, along with a tart cherry sweetness. Plenty of
oak can be found in the arrival, along with a substantial amount of spiciness.
The whisky is pretty coastal in the arrival, with a slight amount of saltiness
and tropical fruits as well. There is a lot of spiciness in the arrival, with
mild black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, and gingerbread coming through.
Body: The
body is very strongly herbal, with a
large amount of cilantro and mint coming through, along with an earthy
presence as well. There is a strong maltiness, along with green apple, lime
citrus, green melon, and body.
Finish: The
finish contains the same amount of herbal presence as the rest of the whisky,
including the mint and cilantro seen before. There is a lot more of an herbal
quality to the finish than in the body. There is also a leathery quality to the
whisky in the finish, that would be associated with a much older whisky. The
finish is absolutely medicinal, and contains a bitter green tea flavor as well.
There is a small amount of malt that fades off with the finish.
With Water
Nose: The
herbal and citrus notes are very dominant after adding water. The whisky starts
off with a much more potent nose. There is a change of balance, as some of the
vanilla sweetness gets lost, and is replaced with an increase in bitter floral
notes and coastal saltiness. There is a little bit of graham cracker in the
nose as well now.
Arrival: The
arrival stills contains some beautiful spiciness, along with some maltiness and
herbal notes. The arrival is more mild than before.
Body: The
body becomes intensely more herbal than before adding water, with bold flavors.
There is also more maltiness, with the sweetness from the whisky becoming more
dormant. There is a vanilla wafer flavor that comes through in the body as well
now. There is a good amount of woodiness in the body, that bleeds into the
finish.
Finish: The finish is woody, with some old notes of
leather and wood polish. It still is hugely herbal. There is a high dominance
of woodiness in the finish that seems more prevalent than before adding water.
Final Comments: Wow…this
is a whisky which raises the bar. This is complex, balanced, unique, and all
around a beautiful statement by Highland Park. The KCM crew believes this
whisky has some older whiskies in it by its taste profile, and it contributes
to a more mature, complex flavor than you would expect from a 15 Year. Now, let’s be clear. I’m not going to spend
the next few minutes telling you about how this whisky is worth $275, because
it really isn’t. The reason it isn’t is because for $200 less you could buy
something of marginally worse quality and still have an undoubtedly fantastic
whisky. So this bottle is for people who have the money to spend; and if you
do, this HP will not disappoint. If you were going to buy a bottle of Johnnie
Walker Blue Label, this would be a better alternative and you wouldn’t look
like an ass.
Why you’d buy it: You
have a lot of money and want something you can appreciate and use to decorate
your mantle.
Why you wouldn’t: You’re
like most people and don’t want to spend almost $300 on a consumable bottle of
liquid that actually does more to dehydrate you than offer sustenance.
Score: 10/10
No comments:
Post a Comment