Highland Park (Viking Legend) Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2018) 70cl

Valkyrie is the first in Highland Park's Viking Legend series in partnership with Danish designer Jim Lyngvild who can trace his lineage back to Viking times. It's made with approximately 50% fully peated stock (Highland Park's peated floor malt is usually mixed with unpeated malt that's bought in at a ratio of 1:4 before mashing), but of course with Highland Park this means Orcadian peat and classic heather smoke notes.

This edition offers a smokier Highland Park experience, but the smoke is still balanced. Highland Park Valkyrie received a score of 99 Points at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, making it an "Extraordinary, Ultimate Recommendation".

Valkyrie celebrates our rich Nordic ancestry here in Orkney, once part of a vast Viking kingdom. According to Norse mythology, Valkyries would descend onto the battlefields to find the best and bravest warriors and give them passage to Valhalla.

Valkyrie is the first in a series of three special Viking Legend releases and was awarded the Chairman’s Trophy in the 2017 Ultimate Spirits Challenge, scoring 99 out of 100. The packaging for the whole series was created by Jim Lyngvild, a Danish designer and artist of international renown, whose great grandfather 36 generations ago was Ragnvald Eysteinsson, the first Earl of the Orkney Islands.

The combination of sherry seasoned European and American oak casks with ex-bourbon casks gives Valkyrie the aroma of crisp green apples in a spice market and an aroma of faraway campfires. We call it ‘Liquorice Lantern Smoke’.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Chocolate and some nutmeg off the bat before the smoke develops, balanced by dried apricot, plum and, increasingly, zesty orange too.

Palate: Plump dried fruits are complimented by vanilla, dried apple and waves of smoke and wood spice.

Finish: Liquorice and more fruit too, plus a return of some chocolatey notes.

Overall: More pronounced smoke than you’d find in a regular Highland Park is definitely there, as can be expected, but it but never threatens to dominate proceedings – this is no chimney of a dram, far from it. The smoke is always balanced. A chocolatey character is shared with Dark Origins, which it’s replacing, but the richer end of Dark Origins’ first-fill Sherry character makes way for the smokier influence here. Enjoyable stuff, I look forward to revisiting this in my own time shortly.

45.9% ABV

70cl