Highland Park is the northernmost distillery in Scotland. It has a history of coming up with expensive and very old single malt whisky. They have recently unveiled its oldest and most expensive whisky to date. It is a single malt distilled in 1960 and aged in five oloroso sherry barrel. It is the unparalleled Highland Park 50 Year Old which has been bottled at 89.8% proof. The rare whisky presents a slight sting of alcohol but also has traces of licorice, lemon and Highland Park’s favorite, nutmeg. There is a hint of smoke in the finish as well.
In the fifty years the single malt has spent in the cellars of Highland Park, a significant portion must have evaporated. This evaporated portion is popularly known in the trade as ‘the angel’s share’. The mature whisky that has come out after the aging process was just enough to fill 275 bottles. A large number of them have been reserved for the US market. Only seven bottles were released initially and was grabbed by whisky lovers immediately. As a result five bottles that were scheduled for a 2012 release were also released in the market.
The rare single malt whisky has been bottled in special packages. Maeve Gilles, the renowned Scottish jewelry designer has created an intricate net cage of sterling silver that wraps the bottles. The designer said that he was inspired by the seaweed and the natural conditions of the windswept Orkney Islands while creating the silver net. A circular piece of Orkney sandstone comes with every bottle. In addition a silver replica of the famous rose window in the St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall has been installed within the bottle that becomes visible as the level of the whisky goes down in the bottle. The long wait for the rare whisky is over.
