Highland Park distillery is the second northernmost

single malt Scotch Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a ...

whisky

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the hea ...

in Scotland ( Kimbland Distillery on Sanday being 22 miles further north), located in

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

on the

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) no ...

History

Highland Park distillery was founded by Magnus Eunson, a butcher and church officer by day and illicit distiller and whisky smuggler by night. In 1798 he was caught illegally distilling whisky on the site. In 1826, nearly 30 years later, Highland Park received an official licence to distill whisky. The name of the distillery does not refer to the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

, but rather to the fact that the distillery was founded on an area called 'High Park' distinguished from a lower area nearby. Highland park malting floor

Production

The distilling process at Highland Park is the same as that used at other distilleries. Highland Park uses the local peat, which contains a higher proportion of heather than many other peats. The whisky is aged in sherry casks made of either American or European oak, purchased from

Oloroso Oloroso ("scented" in Spanish) is a variety of fortified wine (sherry) made in Jerez and Montilla-Moriles and produced by oxidative aging. It is normally darker than Amontillado. Oloroso is usually dark and nutty. Unlike the fino and Amontillad ...

sherry producers in Spain.

Awards

Highland Park has been named "The Best Spirit in the World" on three occasions by F. Paul Pacult
America's foremost expert on distilled spirits
Its 25-year-old whisky was the first spirit ever to receive a perfect 100-point score at th
Ultimate Spirits Challenge
In 2018, two of its special distillery releases, The Light and The Dark, were each awarded a Double Gold medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In 2019 and for the fourth year running, Highland Park won the Chairman's Trophy for Best in Category at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. In 2018, Highland Park ranked second, behind sister distillery The Macallan, in whisky auction sales driven by growing demand from whisky collectors for the distillery's special releases.

References

Notes

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External links