Review of Highland Park 21. Very unique and not as widely available as the famous 18 year old. This is a great whisky and a must try for any whisky fan.
I've now had my HP 21 a couple times now and what a dram. IMO, its much better than the HP 18 which I think is overrated. I would give this HP 21 a solid 90. Thanks again for the review.
Another great review! The 21yo that you reviewed is a couple of years old. The latest release comes in a wood box with a lower ABV of 46.8%. Readily available in Canada. But pricy, $340cnd ($260us). Looking forward to your 25yo & 30yo reviews of HP. Hopefully the newer releases, both 45.7% ABV.
This is still available and although it's expensive it's not shockingly so. Some very fine independent bottles of Highland Park worth dabbling with. I'm sipping a nice Gordon & Macphail single cask 16 year old bottled at cask strength (56.6%) and it's damned good. Might look into this one. Cheers. WT
Apparently HP21 is discontinued as a product along with HP15 As of December 2016. The prices for this have been rising in North America for the past 2 years, but is now also rising in UK. Get it while it lasts
great review, guys... definitely gonna miss this one now that it's discontinued. Do you know if there will be a core replacement for this 21? I agree with your score @90...Jim Murray is 82.5 LOLCheers!
Thank you. There is almost always something that replaces things that get stopped. Probably just more special releases with no age statement. I also think the 21 will come back in like 5-6 years. They like doing this with the 21 year old for some reason. Of course quality seems to go down a bit each time something comes back.
yes, as demand gets bigger they cant be as selective with the casks they use since they need much bigger volume. Therefore lesser quality casks get used to bring up the volume for the high demand. Also prices go up when demand is higher.
Are you guys concerned about the fill level in the bottle? Ive noticed in a couple of your reviews it is quite low. In your experience does this have a negative, positive, or nil effect? Or does it depend on the whisky? Do you ever decant into a smaller bottle?
+Jeremy H Great question. The answer is all the above. Sometimes it gets better and sometimes it gets worse. Most of the time with older whiskies it does not matter too much because so much air has already had an affect on the cask over the years anyways. Most improve with some air and at times we will transfer the whisky into smaller vials if we think the whisky is getting flatter and having a negative affect.
My review of this comes out Friday. I think I prefer this to the entire core range. Went a touch higher than Mikey with my mark.
Looking forward to watching it on Friday. Oh wow, you prefer it over the 25 and 30?
I've now had my HP 21 a couple times now and what a dram. IMO, its much better than the HP 18 which I think is overrated. I would give this HP 21 a solid 90. Thanks again for the review.
Glad you like it bud. Yes its better than the 18 and its missing in most peoples collections in my opinion. Enjoy
Another great review!
The 21yo that you reviewed is a couple of years old. The latest release comes in a wood box with a lower ABV of 46.8%. Readily available in Canada. But pricy, $340cnd ($260us).
Looking forward to your 25yo & 30yo reviews of HP. Hopefully the newer releases, both 45.7% ABV.
Another great review! Keep these coming.
Just opened my 21yo yesterday. What a fabulous scotch! I'm with Mike on this one. A solid 91. One my bests scotches so far!
Awesome. Im glad you like it too bud. Enjoy!
Haven’t tasted the 30 yet. I think I prefer it to the 25 that I had. 45.7%. Hard to tell when not side by side.
This is still available and although it's expensive it's not shockingly so. Some very fine independent bottles of Highland Park worth dabbling with. I'm sipping a nice Gordon & Macphail single cask 16 year old bottled at cask strength (56.6%) and it's damned good. Might look into this one. Cheers. WT
Yes there def are some great gems with the indy bottles. Unfortunately some pretty bad ones too though.
That's true.
Apparently HP21 is discontinued as a product along with HP15 As of December 2016. The prices for this have been rising in North America for the past 2 years, but is now also rising in UK. Get it while it lasts
Yes, Im not sure I think its worth the higher prices but its def good whisky.
well for 125$GBP in UK this is value whisky. Especially from a tier 1 distillery
125 is good. IM hearing much higher prices in some other places.
great review, guys... definitely gonna miss this one now that it's discontinued. Do you know if there will be a core replacement for this 21? I agree with your score @90...Jim Murray is 82.5 LOLCheers!
Thank you. There is almost always something that replaces things that get stopped. Probably just more special releases with no age statement. I also think the 21 will come back in like 5-6 years. They like doing this with the 21 year old for some reason. Of course quality seems to go down a bit each time something comes back.
Malt Reviews i noticed that tge quality went down a bit on the 18 and 25 ... any idea why they do this?
yes, as demand gets bigger they cant be as selective with the casks they use since they need much bigger volume. Therefore lesser quality casks get used to bring up the volume for the high demand. Also prices go up when demand is higher.
Malt Reviews thanks...it's kinda like what the famous Scottish economist gets into with his book, "The Wealth of Nations "
Cheers!
how does it make you feel when a tier 1 distillery cuts back on cask quality to meet volume? Do you think they have any other options?
Are you guys concerned about the fill level in the bottle? Ive noticed in a couple of your reviews it is quite low. In your experience does this have a negative, positive, or nil effect? Or does it depend on the whisky? Do you ever decant into a smaller bottle?
+Jeremy H Great question. The answer is all the above. Sometimes it gets better and sometimes it gets worse. Most of the time with older whiskies it does not matter too much because so much air has already had an affect on the cask over the years anyways. Most improve with some air and at times we will transfer the whisky into smaller vials if we think the whisky is getting flatter and having a negative affect.
Maybe in your reviews you could voice your opinion on how to handle a specific bottle's oxidization effect. Cheers!
+Jeremy H Will do bud. Cheers!