Highland Park Hong Kong Single Cask Edition #4 [Tasted #542]

Edrington's two most well-known distilleries (The Macallan & Highland Park) get a lot of airtime on this blog, and that's largely because their commanding presence in the HK market means they can bring some pretty cool whiskies here, and launch them with some pretty amazing events. 

One area the brands really differ though is in their single cask offerings. The Macallan has the "Exceptional Single Cask" program (which has included everything from 12yo to 67yo whisky), but these are pretty tough to get a hold of, and typically come with a price tag to match their rarity (to be fair, their retail prices are very reasonable - but rarely can they be found at retail prices!)

(The Macallan also have a private cask program, but it's so incredibly limited I won't cover it here.)

Highland Park's single cask program on the other hand has seen hundreds of casks released, often at very reasonable prices. Some have been specific to certain shops, whisky clubs, bars or events, others are specific to the distillery visitor centre and yet others are bottled only for certain locations. In the latter camp, we've previously seen no less than four HK-exclusive casks (the first of which we covered almost 3 years ago) and now, Hong Kong has it's fourth - this time an 18yo!

Distilled in 2001 and bottled in 2020 @ 56.6% ABV, the Highland Park "Hong Kong Edition 4" 18yo comes from a refill Hoghhead (Sherry no doubt) and is limited to 296 bottles. It also comes in a pretty nice and very heavy wooden box.

To celebrate the new single cask, and the launch of the latest edition 50yo (which I later tasted thanks to Dram Good Stuff, but that's for another post...) a lunchtime tasting and pairing was held at St Regis Hong Kong with HK whisky stalwart Ron Taylor. The canapés were delicious and the whiskies expertly paired, but there was one whisky I was there to taste, and really spend some time with, and that was the new single cask...

Highland Park Single Cask Series "Hong Kong Edition 4" (56.6% ABV, 2001-2020, 18yo, Refill Hogshead #2585, 1 of 296 bottles, Orkney Scotland)

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Colour: Amber copper.

Nose: Slight sulphur notes at first, then followed by citrus (calamansi?), vanilla and sour mix. The sulphur dissipates but some mild tannins remain, alongside some sweet orange notes.

Palate: Zesty orange, vanilla and coffee grounds. It has a sweetness, but at the same time there's a robust earthy note. Slight hints of grassy peat, then raw honey, hazelnut and orange chocolate. A few drops of water adds a little more earthy spice, with a hint of vanilla.

Finish: A long, floral honey nuttiness.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91. A very enjoyable cask.

The Highland Park "Hong Kong Edition 4" 18yo sells for $4,650HKD at Dram Good Stuff (but given its limited outturn, I suspect it won't be around for long).

A big thanks to Edrington Hong Kong, Ron and Lee Wolter for the invitation to the event.

Cheers,

Martin.

Macallan Edition No.6 Hong Kong Launch [Tasted #499]

The Macallan "Edition" series has become a pretty monumental one for the whisky collecting community. What started 6 years ago with a ~$700HKD release (which some instantly dismissed as just another NAS) has gone onto become a highly sought-after series, with Edition No.1 now fetching almost $13,000HKD at auction (more importantly though, it was a good whisky).

The events hosted by Edrington HK have been equally monumental too, in particular the Edition No.2 launch dinner at VEA, Edition No.3 launch party with Roja Dove & Edition No.4 lunch to celebrate the new distillery (my luck ran out with Edition No.5 - I was out of town).

..and then just a few weeks ago, the party came to an end, with the launch of Edition No.6.

Celebrating the River Spey, which runs through the distillery estate and serves as the water source for all Macallan whisky, Edition No.6 was launched in HK at a series of lunches and dinners held at K11 Musea. Hosted by the ever-knowledgable Patricia Byott (Brand Ambassador for The Macallan HK and Macau), the aquatic-themed room saw diners at appropriately socially-distanced tables enjoy a 4 course meal paired with, for a change, three cocktails (all made with Edition No.6), followed by a neat serving of Edition No.6. 

With dishes including Scallop, Sea Bass and Crab, there was a clear theme to the event, which was further emphasised when the neat drams of Edition No.6 were handed out, and the curtains opened to reveal a fishing set up on the "banks" of Victoria Harbour.

 

As per tradition, The Macallan give a little more detail on the box for Edition No.6 than most of their core range, so we know that this release is comprised of a number of cask styles including:

• American Oak Tevasa butts
• Euopean Oak JMM hogsheads
• European Oak Tevasa butts and hogsheads
• European and American Oak refill butts; and
• American Oak Vasyma butts

(Butts make up 74% of the whisky, hogsheads the other 26%)

Bottled at 48.6% ABV, the whisky retails for $1,103HKD and is available now. Whilst the exact outturn isn't known, with 393 casks in the vatting, this release seems to be a bit smaller than the previous releases, with the exception of Edition No.1 and perhaps No.2. If you're thinking of grabbing one, probably best to do so sooner rather than later.

 

The Macallan Edition No.6 (48.6% ABV, NAS, Speyside, $1,103HKD)

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Colour: Caramel gold.

Nose: Ginger, orange, notes of oak, raisins and dark chocolate. So far, so good!

Palate: Rich creamy caramel, then spicy orange zest and vanilla cream. Toffee and cinnamon, then a bit more ginger.

Finish: Long, and "robustly sherried" - cigar box, earth-imbued oak.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Happily, a fantastic end to the series - on par with #1, which was probably my favourite of the series (though now they've all been released, I would like to do a side-by-side comparison of all of them!)

Cheers,

Martin.

Lunch with a Master Whisky Maker: Contrasting Highland Park's "Viking Legend" Trilogy

Hot on the heels of the Highland Park Valfather launch festivities, a small group of media were invited to lunch at Taipei's Hotel Proverbs (home to the excellent East End bar) the following day, to re-visit Valfather in a more intimate setting, hear more about the whisky from Master Whisky Maker Gordon Motion and Designer Jim Lyngvild, and compare and contrast the entire "Viking Legend" trilogy.

..that we could do so over a delicious 5 course lunch was the icing on the cake.

Following a private interview with Gordon and Jim, we took our seats and started proceedings, as we so often do at these lunches, with a 12yo Highland Park. A reliable, solid whisky which always makes for a nice "aperitif dram" at a lunch like this.

Gordon (who joined Edrington in 1998 and worked throughout the portfolio, covering The Macallan, The Famous Grouse and Glenturret before moving onto Highland Park) talked us through the evolution of the series, explaining the close collaboration between he and Jim that punctuated all three releases (summary: they worked together very closely - this wasn't just a marketing exercise), the approach to cask selection (Valfather for example had to be a "lighter, ethereal" whisky reminiscent of heaven) and then explained how Valfather was also the distillery's peatiest release to date. 

Whilst that might seem like a contradiction to some, Gordon explained the differences between Orkney peat (lighter, earthier, heather notes) as compared with Islay peat (smokier, medicinal, maritime notes) and why even though this is the "peatiest Highland Park" to date, it's not going to be akin to an Islay peatbomb.

Diving into lunch, we started with Lettuce salad with Ricotta cheese, Serrano and truffle dressing, followed by a starter of Foie Gras, Mushroom and Fennel, Duck Jus and Peanut Powder. This wasn't a pairing lunch per se, so there were no rules around the whiskies and we were free to explore the Viking Legend trilogy at our own pace.

It'd been a "long time between drinks" so to speak, given I'd first tasted Valkyrie in October 2017, and Valknut in December 2018, so it was great to have them all lined up side by side. I always like it when I revisit a dram a months or years later, and find similar notes as I did originally, and that was the case here, with the stronger sherry notes of the Valkyrie still shining through, the nuttiness of the Valknut again being evident, and each whisky becoming progressively smokier than the last.

Jim Lyngvild (the Danish designer responsible for the box and bottle designs for the Viking Legends trilogy) took the stage next, and gave us an appreciation of Orkney's Viking history (himself having literally descended from Orkney vikings, 36 generations earlier). Whilst Highland Park has at times been criticised for pushing the "Viking story" a little too heavily, and for sure there have been a lot of viking-related releases, Jim emphasised that it's at least a story that has history and meaning for Orkney, and is therefore real and true. It's certainly a lot more than we can say for some of the marketing-driven stories we read from time to time...

Mains were next - and how can you beat a great piece of steak (USDA Prime Grain-fed Top Cap), cooked to perfection with a solid dram? Whilst this wasn't a pairing lunch, for me this was a great match with Valkyrie, with the sherry notes mixing brilliantly with the rare meat.

A similarly good pairing was found in the final course - Flan, Dulce de Leche and Candied Peanut which I found went very well with the lighter Valfather and its notes of apple and toffee.

Dessert was actually served with a second dram too - a mystery Highland Park which we could tell had some age on it, but couldn't quite guess how old or which release it was. Turns out there's a good reason for that - it was a brand new, as-yet unreleased Highland Park 21yo, to be released in Asia shortly. Whilst we'll save the detailed notes for another post, it was a subtle and elegant HP, and well-deserving of a place in the core range.

With drams finished and farewells said, it was time to bring to a close an immensely enjoyable two days in Taipei. With the Viking Legends trilogy now officially completed, we look forward to what Highland Park has in store for us next.

Cheers,
Martin.

TimeforWhisky.com attended as a guest of Edrington, who provided flights and accommodation in Taipei. As always, a big thanks must go to the Edrington HK team, along with the Taipei and Singapore teams for their hospitality throughout the trip. 

Highland Park Single Cask Exclusive for Hong Kong and Valknut launch in Hong Kong (Tasted #416 - 417)

Continuing a busy year for Edrington HK, two new Highland Park releases have recently been launched in Hong Kong, both celebrated recently at Tai Kwun's new The Chinese Library restaurant.

The first, Valknut, is the next release to emerge from the partnership with Danish designer Jim Lyngvild (first seen in 2017 with the launch of Valkyrie). Using a small portion of Orkney-grown barley ("Tartan barley"), it was matured in ex-Sherry American oak casks, carries no age statement and is bottled at 46.8% ABV, retailing for $550HKD.

The second, a significantly more limited and special bottling, is an exclusive Hong Kong single cask (officially known as the "HKexcl" bottling), bottled by the distillery under the "Single Cask Series". Many of you will no doubt be familiar with the series, which has seen a number of OB single casks (generally around 12-16 years old) bottled for travel retail, certain markets/countries, whisky bars, and even the distillery itself (which if you ask me, was one of the best).

The "HKexcl" isn't actually the first, or even second single cask OB Highland Park to be bottled for Hong Kong, but it is the first to be available in regular retail (the first two were bottled for travel retail - one for DFS, the other for Duty Zero). Limited to 523 bottles and aged for 15 years, it was bottled from a 2002 1st Fill American Oak sherry butt (#2123) at 58.3% ABV, retailing for $1,960HKD.

To celebrate the launch, Edrington hosted a media lunch pairing the new expressions with a 5 course Cantonese lunch, with each whisky introduced by the ever-knowledgable Patricia, Edrington's Hong Kong brand ambassador.

The lunch brought back fond memories of my trip to Highland Park (part of our Scotland trip to celebrate the launch of the new Macallan distillery earlier this year), particularly enjoying a dram of HP18 atop the Cliffs of Yesnaby in Orkney - easily my most memorable dram of the year.

Whilst I unfortunately couldn't stay for the whole lunch, I did manage to spend some time with both releases and note down my thoughts...

Highland Park Valknut (46.8% ABV, NAS, Orkney, Scotland, $550HKD / £47.95)

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Colour: Orange-brown gold.

Nose: Vanilla orange spice, then some earthy, dusty smoke. There's a nuttiness to the nose, and a noticeable amount more smoke than the Valkyrie.

Palate: Lots of pears and applewood smoke, then some citrus (oranges), vanilla pods and subtle white pepper notes. Grilled pineapple rounds things out.

Finish: Long and slightly tannic smoke, with spicy orange notes to the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  89/100. A different and equally enjoyable dram to the Valkyrie.

Highland Park Single Cask Series "HKexcl" Bottled Exclusively for Hong Kong (58.3% ABV, 15yo, Orkney, Scotland, $2,500HKD from Dram Good Stuff)

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Colour: Copper brown.

Nose: A HUGE iniital hit of coconut, sandalwood and pencil shavings. OK, yes this comes from a 1st-fill butt, but wow, you could be mistaken for thinking it was made of Mizunara! Really lovely. A few drops of water tones things down a bit but doesn't really change or amplify the characteristics drastically.

Palate: Big and spicy. There's sandalwood and some tropical fruits in the background, with pineapple, oranges, cloves and pencil shavings most dominant. A few drops of water doesn't really change things here either - despite the high ABV, I'd say it doesn't really need any water.

Finish: Mostly citrus, with toasted coconut and noticeable toasted oak notes.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  90/100. There's a noticeable amount of oak here, but when that oak brings things like coconut and sandalwood, I'm not complaining! A very unique, delicious and enjoyable HP.

Big thanks as always to the amazing team at Edrington HK for the invitation to celebrate the launch of these two whiskies.

Cheers,
Martin.

The Macallan Masters of Photography Magnum Edition Hong Kong Launch (Tasted #395)

We've been fortunate since moving to HK to attend some brilliant Macallan events (particularly lately), including a few for the various "Masters of Photography" releases. First it was the Mario Testino (5th) Edition, then last year's Steven Klein (6th) Edition (we also tasted one of the 58 different Elliott Erwitt (4th) editions), and this week we attended the launch of the 7th edition - the "Magnum Edition", celebrating the new distillery via the work of 6 Magnum photographers.

One thing I like about the "MoP" series is they don't follow any rules when it comes to the whisky's make up. Single cask, vattings, age statement, NAS - doesn't matter. The whisky is designed to reflect the nature of the photographers / photography, and over the years there's been some really interesting releases (The Mario Testino Edition especially, being a vatting of 6 casks, with the package including a miniature of each of the 6 casks).

The new "Magnum Edition" is also a vatting, of 7 casks, and whilst you can read the detail about how each cask reflects its photographers personality here, the one thing that really interested me was that one of the casks was an ex-Rioja cask - apparently one of only 3(!) the distillery has ever done.

Bottled at 43.7%, the whisky carries no age but after spending a good amount of time nosing and tasting it (see below), it's clearly not young. I'd hazard a guess the majority of the casks would be north of 20 years old (but that's just a guess).

Ken Grier, Creative Director for The Macallan was our host for the night, in what was sadly his last ever event for The Macallan. Ken opened proceedings by talking us through the 6 photographers (each had examples of their Macallan photography on display around the room), then introduced our dinner pairings, explaining that a "Triple Cask Vertical" of 12/15/18 was chosen to accompany the first three courses, as a nod to the original "Masters of Photography" release, which was a 30 year old Fine Oak 

("Triple Cask" being the new name for the "Fine Oak" series originally launched in 2004).

Dinner was a 4 course affair, expertly paired as always, consisting of:

Vanilla poached mangrove forrest prawn, smoked watermelon carpaccio, avocado creme, basil, roasted crustacean aspic

• Paired with The Macallan Triple Cask 12yo

Seared Foie Gras, sour cherry jus, hazelnut creme

• Paired with The Macallan Triple Cask 15yo

US prime beef sirloin, black garlic mashed potato, abalone sauce glazed morel mushrooms, cress salad

• Paired with The Macallan Triple Cask 18yo

Dark chocolate 68% cigar, Baileys Cremeux, streusel, Hazelnut ice cream

Of course, it wouldn't have been much of a launch event if we hadn't actually tried the whisky being launched...

The Macallan "Masters of Photography" Magnum Edition (43.7% ABV, NAS, Speyside, Scotland, $26,600HKD)

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Colour: Yellow gold with a reddish tinge.

Nose: Fruity creme brûlée at first. Toffee apples. Then you get this subtle, but definitely noticeable smoke. Not big Islay-style peat (although one of the casks was "peated", we learned), but a definite dry, dusty, earthen smoke. There's some tobacco and aged leather, and after some time, some burnt orange peel.

Palate: Dry - very dry, with oak tannins quite noticeable. There's also some grassy tobacco, butterscotch, some hints of mandarin peel and more smoke, but underneath it all, an undercurrent of dry oak tannins.

Finish: Extremely long, with the oak tannins carrying right through.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. One that definitely needs time, and the more time you give it, the more you discover. To me, that complexity is something I look for in a whisky, so it scores well because of that. Whilst the palate didn't appeal to me as much as something like Edition 4, or a juicy old Macallan Cask Strength 10yo, it's still quite enjoyable (taste-wise), and the nose is definitely intriguing and hugely complex. Taste is a matter of opinion and plenty of others on the night really enjoyed the taste. Either way, it's definitely one to sit with and enjoy.

The Macallan Masters of Photography "Magnum Edition" is available for $26,600HKD, with a limited allocation of 72 (of 2,000) bottles coming to HK.

Thanks again to Edrington Hong Kong for another successful Macallan launch.

Cheers,

Martin.

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