This whisky was made the same year the Beatles released “The White Album.”
Highland Park 54 Year Old is the oldest whisky ever released by the distillery, and comes just as it is getting to celebrate its 225th anniversary. The distillery is located in Orkney, an archipelago in the far-flung northern reaches of Scotland. This new whisky was distilled in 1968, as mentioned before, and was originally put into four refill sherry butts and six hogsheads. It matured in those barrels until 2008 when it was married together and refilled into first-fill European sherry butts for its final 14 years. “This exceptionally rare 54 Year Old single malt scotch whisky has been nurtured through careful maturation and harmonization,” said master whisky maker Gordon Motion in a statement. “Representing a quarter of Highland Park’s life, we felt it was a fitting way to mark our 225th anniversary—born and crafted in the heart of Orkney.”
Tasting notes describe a rich and deep whisky with peat and oak on the nose, followed by pistachio, cumin, rose, and a hint of kiwi on the palate. The bottle comes in a bespoke box made from Scottish oak, and includes an invitation for the buyer to come to Orkney to visit. The box was designed by John Galvin and is supposed to represent Orkney’s cliffs of Yesnaby, while the bottle is meant to evoke the red sandstone of those same cliffs and the volcanic activity that formed these rugged islands.
There are only 225 bottles of Highland Park 54 available globally, which seems awfully convenient given the approaching anniversary.