Highland Park Riptide Single Cask Series Series

In late 2019, I observed a large number of single-cask Highland Park releases. They seemed to appear suddenly, without the usual ostentatious, over-the-top Nordic packaging. Key details: 65.5% ABV (the distiller's website lists it incorrectly). This is the highest proof Scotch I have owned or even tasted. 12 years old, distilled in 2005 and bottled in 2018. Matured in a 1st Fill European Oak Sherry Puncheon. Cask No. 5187, yielding 568 bottles. Now, for the whisky. Nose: The peat is not prominent. There's a touch of sea salt and seaweed, but the medicinal and smoky peat characteristics are replaced by sulfuric notes, which I often detect in sherried Highland Park. Some orchard fruits are present: apple, pear, and apricot. Plum, honeydew, and tangerine also appear. A jam-like note is discernible. Caramel, toffee, graham cracker, brown sugar, and vanilla are detected. Almonds are present, along with cinnamon red hots and oak. The high ABV is certainly noticeable. A quality nose. Palate: Some peat smoke and more sea salt. The sulfur note disappears. Flavors of plum, raisin, date, fig, and prune are present. Combined with the sea salt, it's quite drying. I even detect a Saltine cracker note. Vanilla, caramel, custard, and fudge are present. More tangerine and plum. Cola and vanilla. Apple and pear. Almond and walnut. A powerful blast of cinnamon spice. Oak is also present. Finish: Exceptionally long-lasting. It's a massive finish. Caramel and vanilla are followed by an immense hit of spice, double the cinnamon. Clove, nutmeg, sea salt, and oak barrel spice are present. It hits with tremendous force. I enjoy this whisky. However, I can fully appreciate why many would not. It is extremely potent and somewhat rough, even abrasive. But it also delivers everything I desire in a Highland Park expression. It has a respectable age statement, a superb cask, and an amazing ABV. Highland Park has recently been criticized for being a brand focused on flashy presentation. If you share that view, consider a single cask Highland Park. This is the Booker's of Scotch. More specifically, I've noticed that the spice-focused Booker's releases have yellow labels. Annis' Answer, Kentucky Chew, and Dots' Batch all share similarities with this whisky. This expression shares many of those key flavor notes. If I were choosing a peated Scotch, I'd opt for one of the top Islay expressions. For a bold, in-your-face spicy whisky, I would choose Booker's. But this is something entirely different. Highland Park has exceeded expectations here. I believe the takeaway is that minimalist packaging combined with meticulous distillation and maturation is a winning formula. Highland Park is onto something. Let's continue in this direction.