Fàilte air ais Ladies & Gentlemen. Today we are going to talk about a whisky that comes from one of my favourite distilleries: Highland Park. It was bottled by Cadenhead's independent bottler and on the label it says: An Orkney Distillery. Well, how do I know it's Highland Park? Easy. There are only a handful of distilleries on Orkney. The Orkney Distillery which has not yet released a Single Malt so it's out of the question. Scapa which was mothballed in 1994, so it's impossible that they gave a 6 yo whisky to Cadenhead's. And what remains is Highland Park. We know they produce a lot, we know they sell a lot to independent bottlers. They are just not letting them use their distillery name most of the time. Independent bottlers usually use "An Orkney Distillery" or "Whitlaw". If you see a bottle with this name, it's Highland Park for sure. Let's get right into it with some info about Cadenhead's and Highland Park distillery and then the whisky.

Cadenhead's ESTD 1842 Scotland's Oldest Independent Bottler

The firm of William Cadenhead Limited, Wine and Spirit Merchants, was founded in 1842 and was in the ownership of the same family until it was taken over by the well known Campbeltown firm of J & A Mitchell & Co. Ltd who own Springbank Distillery. The premises were in Netherkirkgate in Aberdeen and although the street numbers were changed from time to time the premises were the same and indeed were almost unaltered during their 130 years of trading in Aberdeen.

It was at what subsequently became number 47 that Mr. George Duncan established himself as a Vinter and as a distillery agent. There business prospered and in a little over ten years he was joined by his brother-in-law Mr. William Cadenhead.

Cadenhead acquired the business in 1858 and, as was common at the time, he changed the trading name to that of his own. 

Early in the morning of Sunday 11th December 1904, William Cadenhead passed away. He was succeeded in the business of Wine and Spirit Merchants at 47 Netherkirkgate by his nephew Robert W. Duthie. 

In 1931, in the depth of the depression, the business of William Cadenhead was not in good financial health. As such, Mr. Duthie was on his way to a meeting with his bank manager when he was unfortunately run over by a tram car while attempting to cross the road.

He left two sisters; neither of them, though, knew anything about the Wine and Spirit trade. They were determined the name of William Cadenhead should survive so placed long-term employee Ms. Ann Oliver in charge of the business. In the early 1960s things began to get worse as the administration side of the business was poorly adhered to and several ill-advised business decisions were made.

Eventually, Ms. Oliver was prevailed upon by the Trustees to retire and sell the business. The warehouse and number 47 Netherkirkgate was full from the cellar to the roof with stock but nobody knew how much any of it was worth. There was a two-day sale of the entire stock. The catalogue extended to 167 pages and was, to that date, the largest sale of wines and spirits held in Great Britain. The sale took place in London on 3rd and 4th of October 1972 and resulted in a six-figure surplus over liabilities for the firm.

Thereafter the goodwill, premises etc of the firm of William Cadenhead were sold to J & A Mitchell & Co Ltd, the proprietors of Springbank Distillery and the company's modern era began.

In 2023 Hedley Wright passed away and ownership of the company was placed into three trust funds.

In addition to the Cadenhead's shop in Campbeltown, there are now shops in Edinburgh and London. Cadenhead's is now a household name in the whisky world and the business has been expanded whilst still keeping the goals and traditional ethos the firm began with back in 1842. More than 175 years have now passed since then and the company continues to progress.

Highland Park Distillery

Highland Park distillery is the second northernmost single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Scotland (Kimbland distillery on Sanday being 22 miles further north), located in Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands. Highland Park distillery was founded by Magnus Eunson, a butcher and church officer by day and illicit distiller and whisky smuggler by night. This beautiful but isolated distillery has an impressive range of official bottlings. The name of the distillery does not refer to the Scottish Highlands, but rather to the fact that the distillery was founded on an area called 'High Park' distinguished from a lower area nearby. Highland Park uses the local peat, which contains a higher proportion of heather than many other peats. The whisky is aged in sherry casks made of either American or European oak, purchased from Oloroso sherry producers in Spain.

Production at Highland Park is driven by four pot stills; two wash, two spirit. The wash stills each have a capacity of 20,000 liters, while the spirit stills stand a little smaller, at 18,000 liters. Both the wash and the spirit stills have a pear shape, with round, spherical lids and gradually narrowing conical necks. The stills have neither constrictions nor reflux bowls, which means that there is little reflux during distillation. This results in the medium-heavy new make spirit typical of Island Whiskies.

Highland Park is one of a very few distilleries to still make partly use of it's own floor maltings. Considering the significant production capacity of the distillery, this feature is especially impressive. The maltings used in the production of Highland Park are peated, with the peat used in the process being carefully selected from the Hobbister Moor. This sweet, heathery peat, which burns much hotter and cleaner than peat from Islay, is a very important component in the flavoring of Highland Park. The smouldering peat in the kiln is replaced by coal after a certain time, so that not 100% smoky malt is produced.

Highland Park boasts an enormous complex of stone houses, with the total currently standing at 26. But only 23 of them are used as warehouses. 19 of them still have the traditional mud floors and are so-called 'dunnage warehouses'. The rest are racked warehouses, where the casks are stored on large shelves. Orkney's climate is perfect for maturing Whisky, being neither too warm nor too cold.

The Highland Park Distillery has an award-winning visitor's centre, which is routinely heralded as one of the best in the UK. The facilities offered by the distillery include the opportunity to tour the distillery, view a multimedia show, do your own bottling, and sample the extensive range included in the official gift shop. 

Cadenhead's An Orkney Distillery 6 yo - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46%

"Cadenhead's Original Collection allows us to reconnect with a period of our past – the previous Original Collection holds a proud place in Cadenhead folklore.

Original Collection whiskies provide a showcase from a variety of distilleries from Scotland and beyond. Each distillery has its own distinct character and flavour: we select casks from our warehouses in Campbeltown to explore and present the best that each one has to offer.

Whiskies within this range are bottled at 46% – every whisky is deliberately and specifically chosen because we think it works best at this abv and we are confident you will agree! This also allows our Original Collection to have its own identity as it complements the cask strength Authentic range."

They tell us that 100% bourbon casks were used for this whisky. We don't know if it's first fill or refill or third fill etc. From my guess this whisky was 100% matured in first fill bourbon. It's priced around 50 EUR.

Nose: Ok, so if you had a Highland Park before, you can immediately tell that it's from them. Lovely light peat with heather honey and fresh banana. Lots of vanilla coming though with toffee and golden apples. Juicy pears and apricots. You can tell that it is young from these fresh fruits notes. There is no alcohol smell nor any metallic note that you would get with a whisky that is young and not matured well. It's a failry straightforward nose with no off notes. Lovely.

Taste: Very nice and round. The 46% ABV feels just right. Smooth and clean. Mildly floral, with a hint of oakiness. Freshly cut grass. Heather honey with lots of vanilla and toffee. There are also spices such as cinnamon and cloves. Citrus peel and stewed orchard fruits. A hint of peat with salty caramel. For it's age it is indeed a very nice whisky.

Finish: Long and warming. Ashy, subtle smoke. There is some oak and salted caramel. Heather honey with glazed banana and vanilla syrup. Very sweet and pleasant.

Overall this whisky achieves what whiskies in the age range of 12-15 can achieve. It's quite tasty and complex  for it's age. I think it is a whisky that I whole hearteadly recommend to every and each Highland Park or Islands whisky fans. It's great. It's layered, it is not boring and it shows you the Highland Park whisky profile quite well. I will give this whisky 87 / 100.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.