Nose: Gentle peat, light lemon and orange peel. You pay the same amount that you’re used to paying, and you lose the 12-year age statement and 3% ABV. Magnus seems to be priced where Highland Park 12 used to be priced ($33 – $40 US), with the age-stated whisky now retailing for $42 to $50.
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It doesn’t say if it’s chill-filtered, which means it probably is, especially at 40% ABV. The result is bottled at an anemic (and very un-Viking) 40% ABV, with no added coloring. Some refill casks are also used, but the distillery says the sherry-seasoned casks are a “high percentage” of the vatting. This is becoming pretty standard practice in the scotch whisky industry, since nobody drinks actual sherry these days and real sherry barrels are hard to come by. Before you ask, that just means they took regular old ex-bourbon casks and sloshed some sherry around in them for a few months. Like the rest of the line, Magnus is partly peated and partly aged in “sherry seasoned” American oak casks. Enter Magnus, the new entry-level NAS malt from Highland Park. Unfortunately, the Highland Park 12 suffers for the comparison – it is a little more bitter and a little “ rougher” (in terms of off-flavors) than comparably-priced Islay malts. A little of this, a little of that… I’ve said before that their Highland Park 12 year is a good introduction for single malt noobs who aren’t sure they’re ready for the full-blast peat of Islay whiskies. Highland Park is known for “partly” or “half” -peated single malts with a bit of sherry influence. Ok, now that I’ve made my requisite “make fun of the marketing blather on the label” joke, we can move on to the whisky. Enjoy a whisky crafted in the old way by a new generation of Vikings.” Cute marketing, bros, but I doubt that your Viking ancestors would have approved of their Akvavit being served at a watery 40% ABV. Highland Park Magnus “…bears the soul of our Viking ancestors, and the name of just one: our founder, Magnus Eunson. I never thought I'd say that I missed dark origins but I do.I’m going to start with a quote from the back of the bottle (which – aside – is annoying black glass that makes it 100% impossible to determine how much is left in the bottle. Plenty of that weird plum/grape sweetness that is almost cloying like px. There's sulur but no depth to the sherry. The finish is medium in length but mouth drying.īlab: Underdeveloped nose. Sour oak, stir fried broccoli, then the return of a lot of sweetness.įinish: yeasty, grape reduction, a touch of balsamic and seaside. Further time brings, vynil, old books, wine gums, faint smoke a touch of BBQ pork. Palate: Ashy, mineral very sweet like glycerin and honey. Lots of dried grape, and grape candy, yeast, a bit of ink and plasticine and sulfur. The sherry eventually shows up and takes over the proceedings. Nose: Burnt hay, peameal bacon, it's a bit closed at first, then opens up with vanilla & seaweed. With the promise of more "sherry" and more peat what could go wrong? Let's lean into this one.
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#HIGHLAND PARK VALKNUT REVIEWS SERIES#
"limited" editions (15,000 to 20,000 bottles isn't really that limited), creating a new series of 3-4 scheduled releases and finally a story or myth to bind them all together.
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With this series they've combined several tried and true marketing techniques. Anyone who's watched early episodes of Mad Men will be familiar with the kind of cynical marketing techniques that cares very little about the actual product itself. What's at issue along with other Edrington properties is that one feels as though the marketing department has taken over all aspects of the product.
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I personally don't mind the whole Viking thing that much. It's largely in part to how far they've leaned into this whole Viking mythos, coupled with the sheer volume of new releases. Everyone loves to talk trash about Highland Park, more so than Macalllan I think.