To reach Highland Park Distillery, you travel further north than you might expect Scotland could go: to Orkney, a group of islands north of the Scottish mainland, where Norse culture is still present in place names, festivals, and a particular attitude toward the wild. Highland Park has operated here since 1798, making it simultaneously one of Scotland’s oldest and most remote active distilleries.
What Makes Highland Park Different
Highland Park still partially practices traditional floor malting — malting a portion of its own barley on-site, which it then dries over Orkney peat. Orkney peat is botanically different from Islay peat: formed from heather and other moorland plants rather than coastal mosses, it burns with a more floral, heathery smoke. The result is a peat character that is softer and more aromatic than Islay’s maritime intensity. Combined with long maturation in high-quality sherry casks, Highland Park achieves a balance that many experts describe as near-perfect: smoke and sweetness, simultaneously present and harmonious.
The Viking Heritage
Orkney was a Norse territory for centuries — the Viking influence is visible everywhere, from the runic inscriptions in ancient burial chambers to the annual Up Helly Aa fire festival still held each January. Highland Park leans into this heritage in its branding and in the naming of expressions like Valhalla, Einar, and Sigurd. The connection is not purely marketing: Orkney’s Norse history is genuinely distinct from mainland Scotland’s, and it gives the distillery a cultural identity that feels earned.
Mika’s Perspective
Highland Park is a bottle I reach for when a guest wants to understand what “balance” means in Scotch whisky. It doesn’t lead with peat — but the peat is there. It doesn’t lead with sherry — but the sherry is there. Everything sits in the same register, at the same volume. That kind of whisky takes decades to develop and considerable craft to maintain. Highland Park has been doing it for over 200 years.
Read the original Japanese column: https://little-happiness.jp/columns/highlandpark/
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