Distillery

Highland Park whiskies

Highland Park is a distillery in Kirkwall, in the Orkney Islands, at the far north of Scotland, and one of the most northerly in the country. It belongs to Edrington. It is famous for its local peat, rich in heather, which gives an aromatic, sweet smoke very different from Islay’s, and for its Viking image, recalling that Orkney was Norwegian for centuries. Its style balances smoke, honey and sherry.

Founded
1798
Owner
Edrington
Origin
Islands, Scotland
In the catalogue
3 whiskies

History, style and where to startSee it on the world map

  • Highland Park distillery, photo 1 of 3
    Photo: See above. · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • Highland Park distillery, photo 2 of 3
    Photo: Alan Jamieson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • Highland Park distillery, photo 3 of 3
    Photo: Joe deSousa · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)

3 whiskies

Guide to Highland Park

History

House tradition dates it to the end of the 18th century, linked to a local smuggler who distilled on the site. The legal distillery became established at the beginning of the 19th century and, in the 20th, passed to Highland Distillers, a company that ended up within Edrington. Highland Park keeps its own floor maltings, where it dries part of its barley with peat from the island’s moors. In recent decades the house has highlighted its Nordic heritage with Viking-inspired names and designs, and has released much-appreciated old editions.

House style

Orkney peat has little wood and plenty of heather, and gives an aromatic, sweet and floral smoke, gentler than Islay’s. Highland Park’s style combines that smoke with heather honey, orange, spice and dried fruit. The house matures mainly in sherry-seasoned casks of European and American oak. It is a balanced, rounded whisky with a long, slightly smoky finish.

Average flavour profile of its 3 whiskies in the catalogue

Sweet
3.0
Fresh fruit
1.8
Ripe and dried fruit
2.5
Floral and herbal
1.7
Cereal and malt
1.2
Vanilla and creamy
1.5
Oak
2.0
Spicy
1.8
Toasted
1.8
Smoky
2.0
Maritime
0.8
Body and intensity
2.8

Where to start

Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour is the perfect way in: gentle smoke, honey and sherry in balance, ideal if you want to try a smoky whisky without too much intensity. The 18-year-old Viking Pride is one of Scotland’s most praised old whiskies, with more sherry, fruit and depth. Both are best enjoyed neat or with a few drops of water, which open up the honey and heather.

This text was generated and translated by AI and may contain errors. Founding year, owner and official website come partly from Wikidata.

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The colours of this page are inspired by the look of Highland Park. WhiskyMatch is independent and has no connection with the brand.