Solid review Jim. I am always tempted when the HP CS appears on offer just yet to pull the trigger. Strong alternative too pal. Crack on and keep drinking from the bottle.
As you Jim i bought my bottle of this HP CS batch 3 on sale for £50 in pair with Benromach vintage CS which im on the go now and i going to open HP when Benromach is finished. I had HP CS batch 2 while ago and i enjoyed it so much. What a flavourful red fruits bomb. I prefer sip CS's neat but this abv is to high so water helps and works very well. Cheers 😁🥂🥂🥂🙋♂️
Got quite a few HP bottles and love the 18 plus some of their other releases. Got the CS b1 & 2 on the shelf. They perhaps get tarred with the macallan brush a bit unfairly as they seldom bottle 40% stuff and most is 46% or above. Glad you enjoyed it Jim.
Nice review Jim! As it happens I have a bottle of this whisky that have been opened for over 9 months now. I bought it in 2022 for the equivalent of roughly 47 pounds by the current exchange rates in Bulgaria. Very delicious stuff indeed! A masterful blend and great balance too. At first it felt like fire but as the level of the liquid in the bottle was going down the whisky mellowed and opened up beautifully. According to the distillery notes this has to be the peatiest out of the first three releases but so far I just can't detect any significant smoke flavor. Just a gentle aromatic whiff of the lightest smoke adding more depth to the profile. I have releases No 1 and No 2 in the stash too but passed on the No 4 in 2023. At first its price and even higher ABV put me off then it came on special offer but I had already lost interest. Still this Cask Strength "Robust & Intense" series in by far the best Highland Park on the market one can buy and not pay through their nose for it. Cheers!
I'm guilty-- I've stopped looking at HP. But, this sounds like a wonderful dram that is right up my street. I'll look for this one, Jim. Thanks for reviewing this and prompting me to look for a deal on this one. Thanks for another great review, Jim.
Excellent buying for under £60, Jim. Unfortunately the cheapest price in my market is £89 and I refuse to pay that much (nearly 50%) over the odds. The first retailer to stock it a year and a half back told me they'd bought a single 6-pack via an "intermediary"--to explain the price "discrepancy", because back then it was £60 on HP's own website--but since then others have also stocked this as well as batches 2 & 4, but for the same or higher prices, so it's just (local) gouging/greed.
It can take a lot of water. I was really liking it best under 50%. I haven’t fine-tuned this yet, but blending this with the HP 12 year (43%) is really nice. I’ve done three parts 12 and two parts CS and let it sit for a couple days. Added 1 tsp of water before drinking.
this whisky being hot intrigues me to try it, now that i'm a bit more experienced, whisky has lost its kick that originally drew me in. i started out on cheap rough stuff, so "smooth" was a word i didnt even think whisky wanted to associate with
Thanks for reviewing, Jim. Have not tried this one (or any other batches), for the no pocket filling reason. Enough great whiskies out there that will fill some pockets that in my opinion do deserve more. Slàinte mhath
With the 60% cap in my country, -and HP CSs always seemingly above.., we never get these, so the HPs here feel pretty dull. But a nicely priced 7YO CS Cadenhead bourboned "Orkney" I just opened (quite a bit lighter than your bottle) was a feisty yet pleasant meeting.
The ABV is obviously a bigger hitter than the whisky itself 😉 I'll let you know of my thoughts on the release #2, when I've gotten to know it better than now after just a couple of drams. I'm wondering whether it will change a bit in the bottle, when the high ABV has been allowed to "let off some steam" and settle a bit, but maybe that won't happen anytime soon. Who knows... No matter what, I didn't overpay for this bottle (66€ which is ~ 55£ if I do the math correctly), so even if it's not a belter, it has a place on the shelf just for exploration reasons alone... well should any HP fan guests be dropping by 😎 Cheers Jim, thanks for your sharing your thoughts 🥃
Pile on to the fomo, why don't you big guy 😅. This is an official release from HP that really speaks to me - one of very few in recent years. However, given what they tend to charge for it over here (roughly €90 to €100), I'm perfectly happy with my 'unnamed orkeneys' as they tend to be 20% if not more cheaper.
Thankyou all for the fantastic comments. Your thoughts and views are always very much appreciated.
I managed to find release 2 at around 50 quid. With some water to tame it a little down to low 50's ABV - it was outstanding. A beautiful beast.
Solid review Jim. I am always tempted when the HP CS appears on offer just yet to pull the trigger. Strong alternative too pal. Crack on and keep drinking from the bottle.
As you Jim i bought my bottle of this HP CS batch 3 on sale for £50 in pair with Benromach vintage CS which im on the go now and i going to open HP when Benromach is finished. I had HP CS batch 2 while ago and i enjoyed it so much. What a flavourful red fruits bomb. I prefer sip CS's neat but this abv is to high so water helps and works very well. Cheers 😁🥂🥂🥂🙋♂️
Great review Jim!
I picked up the Batch 4 and it is also enjoyable with a good dose of port maturation.
Got quite a few HP bottles and love the 18 plus some of their other releases. Got the CS b1 & 2 on the shelf. They perhaps get tarred with the macallan brush a bit unfairly as they seldom bottle 40% stuff and most is 46% or above. Glad you enjoyed it Jim.
This one is a favorite.
Nice review Jim!
As it happens I have a bottle of this whisky that have been opened for over 9 months now. I bought it in 2022 for the equivalent of roughly 47 pounds by the current exchange rates in Bulgaria.
Very delicious stuff indeed! A masterful blend and great balance too. At first it felt like fire but as the level of the liquid in the bottle was going down the whisky mellowed and opened up beautifully. According to the distillery notes this has to be the peatiest out of the first three releases but so far I just can't detect any significant smoke flavor. Just a gentle aromatic whiff of the lightest smoke adding more depth to the profile.
I have releases No 1 and No 2 in the stash too but passed on the No 4 in 2023. At first its price and even higher ABV put me off then it came on special offer but I had already lost interest. Still this Cask Strength "Robust & Intense" series in by far the best Highland Park on the market one can buy and not pay through their nose for it.
Cheers!
That HP sounds like one for me. Another bargain is Tomatin CS, on The Spirits Embassy for £45!!
I'm guilty-- I've stopped looking at HP. But, this sounds like a wonderful dram that is right up my street. I'll look for this one, Jim. Thanks for reviewing this and prompting me to look for a deal on this one. Thanks for another great review, Jim.
Excellent buying for under £60, Jim. Unfortunately the cheapest price in my market is £89 and I refuse to pay that much (nearly 50%) over the odds. The first retailer to stock it a year and a half back told me they'd bought a single 6-pack via an "intermediary"--to explain the price "discrepancy", because back then it was £60 on HP's own website--but since then others have also stocked this as well as batches 2 & 4, but for the same or higher prices, so it's just (local) gouging/greed.
It can take a lot of water. I was really liking it best under 50%. I haven’t fine-tuned this yet, but blending this with the HP 12 year (43%) is really nice. I’ve done three parts 12 and two parts CS and let it sit for a couple days. Added 1 tsp of water before drinking.
I suspect the sweet spot blend is going to have slightly more 12-year
this whisky being hot intrigues me to try it, now that i'm a bit more experienced, whisky has lost its kick that originally drew me in. i started out on cheap rough stuff, so "smooth" was a word i didnt even think whisky wanted to associate with
Thanks Jim
Top review ..As always 👍🥃
Thanks for reviewing, Jim.
Have not tried this one (or any other batches), for the no pocket filling reason. Enough great whiskies out there that will fill some pockets that in my opinion do deserve more.
Slàinte mhath
Thanks for this review Jim,sounds like a great official HP. Slàinte 🥃
I haven't cracked No. 3 yet, but sounds like it will be a treat! Thanks for the great walk through, cheers!
With the 60% cap in my country, -and HP CSs always seemingly above.., we never get these, so the HPs here feel pretty dull. But a nicely priced 7YO CS Cadenhead bourboned "Orkney" I just opened (quite a bit lighter than your bottle) was a feisty yet pleasant meeting.
The ABV is obviously a bigger hitter than the whisky itself 😉
I'll let you know of my thoughts on the release #2, when I've gotten to know it better than now after just a couple of drams. I'm wondering whether it will change a bit in the bottle, when the high ABV has been allowed to "let off some steam" and settle a bit, but maybe that won't happen anytime soon. Who knows...
No matter what, I didn't overpay for this bottle (66€ which is ~ 55£ if I do the math correctly), so even if it's not a belter, it has a place on the shelf just for exploration reasons alone... well should any HP fan guests be dropping by 😎
Cheers Jim, thanks for your sharing your thoughts 🥃
Pile on to the fomo, why don't you big guy 😅. This is an official release from HP that really speaks to me - one of very few in recent years. However, given what they tend to charge for it over here (roughly €90 to €100), I'm perfectly happy with my 'unnamed orkeneys' as they tend to be 20% if not more cheaper.
Thanks for this review, I’m definitely regretting not pulling the trigger on this when I saw it on a similar offer to yours now 🥲