WhiskyIntelligence.com » Weblog Archive » Secret Orkney (Highland Park) 19YO “Signatory” Okay&L Unique #DRU 17/A63 #28 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt Cask Power Non Chillfiltered Orkney ~ Single Malt Scotch Whisky Information

It’s barrels like this that make me so comfortable to be a part of what the Okay&L Spirits Division does. However this barrel additionally represents one of many strangest dichotomies of this trade. We’ve at all times relied on our bottling companions to supply nice barrels and promote them at unimaginable costs. In actual fact, simply a few many years in the past, these bottlers had been the one place you possibly can get single casks at cask energy. Over time, the manufacturers themselves have taken such insane worth will increase that the independents discovered room to maneuver up their costs, however when issues bought robust the manufacturers are caught. Our bottlers, nevertheless, don’t have such issues and we’ve been capable of negotiate unimaginable costs on some extraordinarily particular single casks throughout these unprecedented instances. Whereas the distillery final yr bought us a cask one yr youthful of comparable high quality for $450 on the shelf, we’re capable of get an older (and I consider higher) barrel of almost similar first fill oloroso blue-chip single malt from Orkney at lower than HALF the value. It’s simply insane to me that the individuals who distilled this couldn’t discover a use for it at someplace in between $180 and $450. However, that’s the magic of what we do at Okay&L. .

This barrel is so outrageously priced, I’m shocked that we nonetheless have any after the pre-arrival marketing campaign. Heck we’ve been promoting whiskies 7 years youthful for almost the identical worth! However I perceive that even when on paper it seems to be good, you generally have to see it to consider it. SO, right here we go. The colour is an ideal tawny (1.4). The nostril is absolute heaven however wants plenty of air to completely specific. Wealthy oloroso notes peppered with cooked yellow plums, extraordinarily outdated vintage leather-based, raspberry jam, roasted herbs, however because it opens it provides wild forest aromas of damp moss, old-growth pine, and citrus oil. On the palate the deep sherry character doesn’t utterly obliterate the wealthy smoky undertones that we love about Highland Park. Some IB barrels are utterly devoid of the smoke factor, however right here is completely built-in to present that attractive ocean kiss and candy burning heather. The end is lengthy spicy, however not tannic in any respect, with a constructing darkish smoke within the very finish. With just a few drops of water, this turns into an entire totally different animal. The nostril explodes—now vibrant dried stone fruit, deep roasted nuts and nougat, unique spices too quite a few to pinpoint. Now the palate is so wealthy and candy but the smoke stills lingers within the again. In some ways that is the right finish of the evening malt.

There isn’t any higher method to spend an hour or two with an outdated buddy than sipping this slowly after a protracted dinner. Ought to be about as good a cigar pair as you’ll ever discover should you’re into that kind of factor, however when it comes to worth, we’re within the higher echelons of what’s attainable in Scotch. A real triumph and actually this crushes any earlier Highland Park exclusives we’ve bottled. An distinctive malt by any measure, however give it time within the glass that it deserves.