This tasting was shifting its date for a few times but finally it happened. Hooray!
Orkney saga tasting: Inga Saga trilogy (St Magnus 12 yo - Earl Magnus 15 yo - Earl Haakon 18 yo) and two Highland Park 25 yo: 48.1% bottled in 2006 and 51.5% bottled in 2000.
Historical order of Inga Saga trilogy was the following: Earl Magnus 15 yo (6000 bottles released in 2009) - Saint Magnus 12 yo (12 000 bottles released in 2010) - Earl Haakon 18 yo (3300 bottles released in 2011), but we'll start with 12 yo as the youngest one born in 1998 and go deeperunder ground in history.
Highland Park Saint Magnus 12 yo 1998/2010 55.0% - nice dark colour and accent on Spanish oak first fill sherry casks.
Nose: lots of sweet sherry notes, dark chocolate, oranges, hints of heather honey and peat, even some ham and meaty notes.
Taste: strong and heavy, but not harsh as you might expect from 55.0% strength, lots of sherry sweetness again, spices and touch of oak.
Finish: long and spicy with just a hint of peat, adding a splash of water adds more smoke.
Overall: it doesn't feel like young 12 yo malt, powerful, convincing and mature spirit it is, way better than standard 12 yo expression.
Score = 22 22 22 22, 88/100!
Highland Park Earl Magnus 15 yo 1994/2009 52.6% - the colour is lighter here, accent on American oak sherry casks.
Nose: beautiful!.. Delicate and subtle, if the nose of St Magnus 12 yo was predominantly on red fruits, then here I'd go for yellow ones: pineapple, apricot, melon, apples, even some sour touch of lemon and lime insted of usual oranges. After a while you catch some grass, vanilla and flowers.
Taste: sweet, oily and smooth, white chocolate, citrus and malt notes, even some wax and nuts.
Finish: long, sweet, citrusy and salty with classic "gentle smoky aftertaste".
Overall: I do suspect there are some older spirits in this batch, such refinement and tenderness of initial Highland Park spirit I met in 20 - 30 yo independent bottlings matured in bourbon casks.
Score = 23 23 22 23, 91/100!
Highland Park Earl Haakon 18 yo 1993/2011 54.9% - we are again on Spanish oak first fill sherry casks territory.
Nose: quite reserved at the beginning, needs to be warmed. Then you're attacked by Orkney peat, heather honey, sherry, oranges, marmalade, prunes, touches of salt and oak. There are also some old church flavours: precious wood, frankincense and myrrh.
Taste: dense and powerful, sweet oranges, peat, notes of salt, pepper and oak.
Finish: long, drying, mouthwatering, sweet and smoky, stays with for quite a long time.
Overall: really wild one, you can easily imagine Earl Haakon himself with axe or whatever. The same score as before, but today I'd put some emphasis on its taste.
Score = 23 23+ 23- 23, 92/100!
Highland Park 25 yo 1981/2006 48.1% - was released at this strength in a new flat shape bottle since 2006, in 2012 the strength was reduced to 45.7%. Among all standard Highland Park malts it boasts of the highest ratio of first fill European sherry casks - up to 50%.
Nose: much more mellow and elegant, less intense than Earl Haakon, but more prolonged. Apples stewed in honey, apricots, vanilla, grapes, sea, chocolate and oak. Everything is wonderfully integrated, the nose is changing while you smell it, later on some smoked pear and fruit firewood appear. Not defiantly powerful but beautifully complex.
Taste: sweet and honeyed, grassy, touches of chocolate, peat and pepper, every sip is a bit different, it invites you to play with it :)
Finish: long, gently smoky and spicy, at first it makes your mouth dry for ages and then moisture returns and you're asking for one more sip.
Overall: a masterpiece.
Score = 24 23 24 23, 94/100!
Highland Park 25 yo 1975/2000 51.5% - was released at this strength in round dumpy bottles from 2000 till 2006.
Nose: quite similar, but more sherry, coffee and cocoa here, more wood and it's not so sophisticated as previous one.
Taste: thick and rich exploding with creaminess, honey, oranges, red berries and smoke.
Finish: long, sweet and spicy, lots of chocolate and tannic oak which is a bit excessive.
Overall: it is an excellent Orkney malt, don't get me wrong, there were guys that liked it more than flat-shaped 25 yo bottle, though I personally stick to 48.1% strength. It has much more complex nose than its predecessor, refined taste and tad better aftertaste and balance (remember, that's very personal).
Score = 22.5 23 22.5 22, 90/100!
Conclusions and thoughts: great tasting I dreamt of for a few years. An interesting observation to share: we were actually divided into 2 camps, the ones who prefer power and sherry voted for older 25 yo 51.5% and Earl Haakon 18 yo, the others preferring delicacy and balance voted for newer 25 yo 48.1% and also Earl Haakon. Long live both points of view.
My personal ranking:
1. 25 yo 48.1%
2. Earl Haakon 18 yo
3. Earl Magnus 15 yo
4. 25 yo 51.5%
5. Saint Magnus 12 yo
And finally what makes this particular tasting so special for me is small but proud piece of video combining our meeting, Highland Park introductory film and Gerry Tosh tasting notes.
Historical order of Inga Saga trilogy was the following: Earl Magnus 15 yo (6000 bottles released in 2009) - Saint Magnus 12 yo (12 000 bottles released in 2010) - Earl Haakon 18 yo (3300 bottles released in 2011), but we'll start with 12 yo as the youngest one born in 1998 and go deeper
Highland Park Saint Magnus 12 yo 1998/2010 55.0% - nice dark colour and accent on Spanish oak first fill sherry casks.
Nose: lots of sweet sherry notes, dark chocolate, oranges, hints of heather honey and peat, even some ham and meaty notes.
Taste: strong and heavy, but not harsh as you might expect from 55.0% strength, lots of sherry sweetness again, spices and touch of oak.
Finish: long and spicy with just a hint of peat, adding a splash of water adds more smoke.
Overall: it doesn't feel like young 12 yo malt, powerful, convincing and mature spirit it is, way better than standard 12 yo expression.
Score = 22 22 22 22, 88/100!
Highland Park Earl Magnus 15 yo 1994/2009 52.6% - the colour is lighter here, accent on American oak sherry casks.
Nose: beautiful!.. Delicate and subtle, if the nose of St Magnus 12 yo was predominantly on red fruits, then here I'd go for yellow ones: pineapple, apricot, melon, apples, even some sour touch of lemon and lime insted of usual oranges. After a while you catch some grass, vanilla and flowers.
Taste: sweet, oily and smooth, white chocolate, citrus and malt notes, even some wax and nuts.
Finish: long, sweet, citrusy and salty with classic "gentle smoky aftertaste".
Overall: I do suspect there are some older spirits in this batch, such refinement and tenderness of initial Highland Park spirit I met in 20 - 30 yo independent bottlings matured in bourbon casks.
Score = 23 23 22 23, 91/100!
Highland Park Earl Haakon 18 yo 1993/2011 54.9% - we are again on Spanish oak first fill sherry casks territory.
Nose: quite reserved at the beginning, needs to be warmed. Then you're attacked by Orkney peat, heather honey, sherry, oranges, marmalade, prunes, touches of salt and oak. There are also some old church flavours: precious wood, frankincense and myrrh.
Taste: dense and powerful, sweet oranges, peat, notes of salt, pepper and oak.
Finish: long, drying, mouthwatering, sweet and smoky, stays with for quite a long time.
Overall: really wild one, you can easily imagine Earl Haakon himself with axe or whatever. The same score as before, but today I'd put some emphasis on its taste.
Score = 23 23+ 23- 23, 92/100!
Highland Park 25 yo 1981/2006 48.1% - was released at this strength in a new flat shape bottle since 2006, in 2012 the strength was reduced to 45.7%. Among all standard Highland Park malts it boasts of the highest ratio of first fill European sherry casks - up to 50%.
Nose: much more mellow and elegant, less intense than Earl Haakon, but more prolonged. Apples stewed in honey, apricots, vanilla, grapes, sea, chocolate and oak. Everything is wonderfully integrated, the nose is changing while you smell it, later on some smoked pear and fruit firewood appear. Not defiantly powerful but beautifully complex.
Taste: sweet and honeyed, grassy, touches of chocolate, peat and pepper, every sip is a bit different, it invites you to play with it :)
Finish: long, gently smoky and spicy, at first it makes your mouth dry for ages and then moisture returns and you're asking for one more sip.
Overall: a masterpiece.
Score = 24 23 24 23, 94/100!
Highland Park 25 yo 1975/2000 51.5% - was released at this strength in round dumpy bottles from 2000 till 2006.
Nose: quite similar, but more sherry, coffee and cocoa here, more wood and it's not so sophisticated as previous one.
Taste: thick and rich exploding with creaminess, honey, oranges, red berries and smoke.
Finish: long, sweet and spicy, lots of chocolate and tannic oak which is a bit excessive.
Overall: it is an excellent Orkney malt, don't get me wrong, there were guys that liked it more than flat-shaped 25 yo bottle, though I personally stick to 48.1% strength. It has much more complex nose than its predecessor, refined taste and tad better aftertaste and balance (remember, that's very personal).
Score = 22.5 23 22.5 22, 90/100!
Conclusions and thoughts: great tasting I dreamt of for a few years. An interesting observation to share: we were actually divided into 2 camps, the ones who prefer power and sherry voted for older 25 yo 51.5% and Earl Haakon 18 yo, the others preferring delicacy and balance voted for newer 25 yo 48.1% and also Earl Haakon. Long live both points of view.
My personal ranking:
1. 25 yo 48.1%
2. Earl Haakon 18 yo
3. Earl Magnus 15 yo
4. 25 yo 51.5%
5. Saint Magnus 12 yo
And finally what makes this particular tasting so special for me is small but proud piece of video combining our meeting, Highland Park introductory film and Gerry Tosh tasting notes.
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