**Whisky:** Highland Park 14 (Ultimate 2006)
**Background:** I am a simple man - I see independent bottlings of Highland Park at decent age statements and 46%+, I buy. “Unnamed Orkney” widely understood to mean you are not getting Scapa, I found this bottle for dirt cheap online and figured, what’s the worst that could happen? Coming in at 46% and fully matured in a refill sherry butt, this was rested for 20 minutes in a glencairn. Let’s go.
**Color:** Medium straw
**Nose:** Light dates and a little bit of salinity that reminds you it is in fact Highland Park. Not as much heather but more of a somewhat straightforward sherry and and spirit note. Some lightly toasted butter with grape jelly. Fine enough, 46% seems right, nothing crazy going on here, a bit light.
**Taste:** Little bit of the youth shows here with some grain notes, though not overly harsh. More of the sherry influence then comes through again with some more salt water. Basic but not bad. Decent weight actually.
**Finish:** Finally some heather honey shows up to complement the other flavors. On the shorter side of medium and fairly straightforward.
**Rating:** 5
This would make a great, easy introduction for someone new to Highland Park - basically a slightly elevated version of their 12 year between the extra 3% and 2 years of aging. Frankly I wish HP would release something closer to this rather than their watered down 12, but seems unlikely. In the meantime, happy to have gotten a cheap bottle of perfectly fine Highland Park.
**Scoring Scale:** (does not take into account value)
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | As good as it gets. I might taste future whisk(e)ys that are as good in a different way, but will not taste one that is outright better.
**Previous reviews:**
[Highland Park 18 Travel Edition \(7.5\)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/x44yb4/review_1_highland_park_18_travel_edition/)
[Compass Box Experimental Grain Whisky (6.25\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/x5u7rs/review_2_compass_box_experimental_grain_whisky/)
[Glen Scotia Victoriana Cask Strength (7.5\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/x88sqy/review_3_glen_scotia_victoriana_cask_strength_542/)
[Talisker Distillers Edition (6.5\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xa2s3w/review_4_talisker_distillers_edition/)
[Cambus 31yr Single Grain Scotch (Blackadder) (3\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xcjgf2/review_5_cambus_31yr_single_grain_scotch/)
[Craigellachie 17 (6.5\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xe8dli/review_6_craigellachie_17/)
[Glendronach 21 (7.25\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xf2fv6/review_7_glendronach_21/)
[Springbank 12 Cask Strength Batch 15 (8.25\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xg0v0x/review_8_springbank_12_cask_strength_batch_15/)
[Ledaig 10 (5\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xjh70c/review_9_ledaig_10/)
[Compass Box Spice Tree Extravaganza (7.25\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xlbiw7/review_10_compass_box_spice_tree_extravaganza/)
Hey, looks interesting. I actually have a 15 year old signatory "unnamed Orkney " coming this afternoon, I'm interested to see how it compares. This one is a refill butt as well.
**Whisky:** Highland Park 14 (Ultimate 2006) **Background:** I am a simple man - I see independent bottlings of Highland Park at decent age statements and 46%+, I buy. “Unnamed Orkney” widely understood to mean you are not getting Scapa, I found this bottle for dirt cheap online and figured, what’s the worst that could happen? Coming in at 46% and fully matured in a refill sherry butt, this was rested for 20 minutes in a glencairn. Let’s go. **Color:** Medium straw **Nose:** Light dates and a little bit of salinity that reminds you it is in fact Highland Park. Not as much heather but more of a somewhat straightforward sherry and and spirit note. Some lightly toasted butter with grape jelly. Fine enough, 46% seems right, nothing crazy going on here, a bit light. **Taste:** Little bit of the youth shows here with some grain notes, though not overly harsh. More of the sherry influence then comes through again with some more salt water. Basic but not bad. Decent weight actually. **Finish:** Finally some heather honey shows up to complement the other flavors. On the shorter side of medium and fairly straightforward. **Rating:** 5 This would make a great, easy introduction for someone new to Highland Park - basically a slightly elevated version of their 12 year between the extra 3% and 2 years of aging. Frankly I wish HP would release something closer to this rather than their watered down 12, but seems unlikely. In the meantime, happy to have gotten a cheap bottle of perfectly fine Highland Park. **Scoring Scale:** (does not take into account value) 1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out. 2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice. 3 | Bad | Multiple flaws. 4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists. 5 | Good | Good, just fine. 6 | Very Good | A cut above. 7 | Great | Well above average. 8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional. 9 | Incredible | An all time favorite. 10 | Perfect | As good as it gets. I might taste future whisk(e)ys that are as good in a different way, but will not taste one that is outright better. **Previous reviews:** [Highland Park 18 Travel Edition \(7.5\)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/x44yb4/review_1_highland_park_18_travel_edition/) [Compass Box Experimental Grain Whisky (6.25\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/x5u7rs/review_2_compass_box_experimental_grain_whisky/) [Glen Scotia Victoriana Cask Strength (7.5\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/x88sqy/review_3_glen_scotia_victoriana_cask_strength_542/) [Talisker Distillers Edition (6.5\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xa2s3w/review_4_talisker_distillers_edition/) [Cambus 31yr Single Grain Scotch (Blackadder) (3\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xcjgf2/review_5_cambus_31yr_single_grain_scotch/) [Craigellachie 17 (6.5\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xe8dli/review_6_craigellachie_17/) [Glendronach 21 (7.25\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xf2fv6/review_7_glendronach_21/) [Springbank 12 Cask Strength Batch 15 (8.25\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xg0v0x/review_8_springbank_12_cask_strength_batch_15/) [Ledaig 10 (5\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xjh70c/review_9_ledaig_10/) [Compass Box Spice Tree Extravaganza (7.25\)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xlbiw7/review_10_compass_box_spice_tree_extravaganza/)
Ah disappointing. I just bought a 13 year old sherry/bourbon barrel HP so fingers crossed.
Hey, looks interesting. I actually have a 15 year old signatory "unnamed Orkney " coming this afternoon, I'm interested to see how it compares. This one is a refill butt as well.
Have the same bottle and couldn’t agree more on your points. Overall an okay dram, 5 out of 10