Orkney-based distillery Highland Park, owned by Edrington Group, has unveiled a 54 Year Old Single Malt Scotch whisky, its oldest release yet.
Only 225 bottles have been produced to celebrate the distillery’s 225th anniversary this year.
The expression has launched exclusively with Dufry at London Heathrow Airport this month, before rolling out to selected other travel retail locations.
The new expression was celebrated with a spectacular Highland Park ‘Unexpected Contrasts’ event at the Trinity Buoy Wharf in London.
The immersive event was held four times during a two-day period from 1-2 March, taking VIP customers and media on a memorable journey of discovery through the landscapes and elements of Orkney. The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan-Gillies was on location for the multi-sensorial whisky experience.
The evening began with a boat ride along the Thames and continued with dinner prepared by Scottish/West Indian Chef James Cochran.
The elements of Orkney were a key theme of the evening which took place in three parts. It began with an ice carving workshop, which taught guests how to make spherical ice cubes for an Old Fashioned cocktail.
Highland Park is the only distillery to use Orkney Peat, giving its whiskies a natural colour and complex floral flavour profile. The flora of Orkney was the star of the second segment of the evening, as guests foraged through the man-made Orkney garden to choose the cordials and garnishes for their cocktails.
The third part was a three-course dinner complete with whisky cocktail pairings. The evening concluded with a tasting of Highland Park’s 21 Year Old, 25 Year Old, 30 Year Old and 54 Year Old Single Malt Whiskies, led by Highland Park Master Whisky Maker Gordon Motion, the evening’s special guest.
Born and crafted in the heart of Orkney
The Highland Park 54 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky was originally laid down in 1968. In 2008, Gordon Motion combined four refill butts and six refill hogsheads and refilled them into first-fill European sherry butts. 14 years of maturation in ex-sherry casks has imparted an additional deep, rich, natural colour and wonderful intensity to the whisky which was bottled at 54 years of age.
The expression represents the pinnacle of Highland Park’s super-prestige range and retails for £39,000 (US$47,000) per bottle. The liquid carries a deep autumnal russet hue, which is a natural cask-driven colour with no additives. The intensely sweet, rich and complex liquid offers exotic lychee and camphor, vintage oak and delicate peat on the nose.
On the palate, it offers flavours of warm spices, crushed cumin, coriander seeds, summer rose and jasmine with a hint of kiwi fruit and pistachio. The whisky is sweet and spicy at the end, with woody notes giving way to a sweet fenugreek and heathery peat smoke on the finish.
It is housed in a beautiful embossed bottle designed by Stoelzle Flaconnage Senior Designer Michael Rudak. Every detail in the bottle has been thoughtfully considered including the conical ‘push’ at the base which pays homage to the mash tuns at the distillery. The bottle features a textured design that was inspired by the old red sandstone at the Yesnaby Cliffs and by the surge of molten lava that eventually formed the Orkney islands.
The expression comes in a striking presentation box crafted from Scottish oak wood, designed by award-winning craftsperson and designer John Galvin.
The box is sculpted to represent the cliffs of Yesnaby, with an opening at the heart to reveal the glass inside. Each piece of wood is hand blasted, which means that every piece offers distinct colour variations.
Describing the rare liquid, Motion said: “This exceptionally rare 54 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky has been nurtured through careful maturation and harmonisation. Representing a quarter of Highland Park’s life, we felt it was a fitting way to mark our 225th anniversary; born and crafted in the heart of Orkney.”
Watch the YouTube video above for exclusive video coverage of the Highland Park Unexpected Contrasts Event filmed by The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan-Gillies and edited by Declan Moodie
In a quick-fire, exclusive interview with The Moodie Davitt Report, Motion discussed the inspirations behind the rare expression and how it underlines Highland Park’s own premiumisation drive.
What was the inspiration for this blend?
When I took over as whisky maker in 2008, we had a number of casks from 1968 which had been refill casks. Over the years we haven’t used them because they didn’t suit the style we were going for at the time, but this greatly benefitted their maturation. When they got to 40 years old in 2008, the whisky was very light, delicate and it hadn’t become too woody. It displayed the aromatic, ethereal notes you only get with really old whisky.
We had to decide what we were going to do with that whisky, in order to nurse it into something of a better style for Highland Park. So, we put the ten refill casks into four first-fill European oak sherry casks. For the last 14 years, these sherry casks matured slowly and all went in different directions, creating different characters of whisky. So, we released one of them as a 54 Year Old and only 225 bottles have been made to celebrate our 225th anniversary.
What customer does this super-prestige whisky speak to?
Inevitably there will be some collectors. However, I hope that there will be people who will enjoy drinking this whisky too. I make whiskies to be drunk, I don’t just release whiskies for the sake of having a 54 Year Old expression, but because the liquid has the character and flavour that I’m looking for.
What makes Orkney’s landscape and climate so special in the distillation and maturation of whisky?
Orkney is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and gets regularly battered by Atlantic storms, which means there are very few trees. Hobbister Moor — where we harvest our peat from — barely has any trees but more low-growing shrubs like heathers and bracken. There is very little woody material, so harvesting, drying and burning creates a very aromatic smoke.
It’s not the woody smoke you get from Islay, but instead offers a very fragrant, aromatic smoke that comes through in the malt. We only use a small proportion of heavily peated malt in our final mash so our phenol levels are quite low. We’re looking for about two PPM (parts per million) in the spirit compared to Islay whiskies which have about 20. At the new mix spirit stage, Highland Park is a beautiful mix of sweet and peat.
What sets Highland Park apart from other single malts?
What makes us unique is that we are the only distillery to use Orkney peat and we will only ever use Orkney Peat. Ultimately, it’s the terroir. Highland Park is the taste of Orkney, it’s the taste of the soil and thousands of years of slow generation of the peat – which is absolutely key.
Another typical element of our house style is our use of sherry casks which gives our blends a special sweet, spicy and cinnamon flavour. The use of European sherry oak casks give our whiskies a natural colour without the use of caramels which other distilleries do.
What does the release of the 54 Year Old expression mean for Highland Park’s own premiumisation drive?
It is our most premium whisky. I liken it to an Olympic athlete. Millions of people around the world will watch their favourite athlete compete in a sport they like but know that they will never be that athlete.
However, that doesn’t stop them from enjoying that sport at whatever level they like. It’s the same with whiskies. You can look at the 54 Year Old and even though you can’t afford it, you know that it is Highland Park and choose to partake in the brand at whichever level in the range you want. And hopefully if people are drinking less, they are drinking better and moving up the categories.
Why does the 54 Year Old appeal to global travel retail consumers?
People who are regular travellers are more affluent and I think you’ll find that this type of release appeals to that top-end client. We want to try and get as many people as possible drinking Highland Park and if this release, and this event, can provide a halo effect for Highland Park then all the better.✈
