Highland Park Distillery, founded in 1798 on the Orkney Islands north of the Scottish mainland, occupies a unique position in the whisky world: it is simultaneously one of Scotland’s oldest and most remote active distilleries. Orkney was a Norse territory for centuries — the Viking influence is still present in place names and local culture — and Highland Park embraces this heritage fully.
Orkney Peat: Different from Islay
Highland Park still floor-malts a portion of its own barley, drying it over Orkney peat — botanically distinct from Islay peat. Formed from heather and moorland plants rather than coastal mosses, Orkney peat burns with a more floral, aromatic smoke. The resulting whisky is peated but not aggressively so — the smoke is present as a dimension, not a statement. Combined with long maturation in high-quality sherry casks, the result is a whisky where smoke and sweetness coexist in genuine balance.
Mika’s Perspective
Highland Park is the bottle I reach for when a guest wants to understand what “balance” means in Scotch whisky. Everything — peat, fruit, oak, sherry — sits at the same level, in the same register. That kind of equilibrium takes decades to develop. Highland Park has been achieving it for over 200 years. Available at Bar Little Happiness. Read the original Japanese column: https://little-happiness.jp/columns/highlandpark/
Bar Little Happiness | Hiroshima, Japan
Rum & Whisky specialists | 1,000+ bottles | English menu available
Open Mon–Sat 7PM–12:30AM, Sun 7PM–midnight
No cover charge. Walk-ins welcome.
english.little-happiness.jp