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| Hello, that is one in all our (nearly) each day tastings. Santé! |
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July 31, 2025
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Secret Orkneys and Highland Park
We’re not able right here to verify with full certainty that it is the similar factor, are we. Nonetheless, the distinction between Scapa and Highland Park is not all that onerous to identify. Let’s get into it and let’s begin by going to Frankfurt — however not Frankfurt, Kentucky, proper?
St Magnus in Kirkwall, Britain’s most northerly cathedral (AI slop)
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Orkney Single Malt 18 yo 2006/2024 (53.2%, Whisky Spirits for Whisky Time Frankfurt 2025) 
With town of Frankfurt printed the other way up on the label! Fortunately, the distillery stays the suitable means up. Color: white wine. Nostril: unmistakable, with these maritime and mineral tones, adopted by tart apples, lemon and olive oil we so adore but which are likely to elude the official expressions. With water: soot and paraffin, then model new engine oil. Mouth (neat): squarely on the hallowed HPCBBNS axis (HP -> Clynelish -> Benromach -> Ben Nevis -> Springbank). Immensely saline! With water: how completely pleasant! Pure waxes, lemons, inexperienced apples and seawater. End: extra of the identical, and for a great whereas at that. Feedback: it begins with a bang.
SGP:462 – 90 factors. |
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Orkney 11 yo 2013/2025 (63.6%, Woman of the Glen, 1st fill bourbon, cask #10001, 203 bottles) 
They are saying it’s cask power, good to know, realizing that except I’m flawed, HP fill at 63.5% vol., which suggests we’ve earned some extra-0.1% inside eleven years! Color: white wine. Nostril: a reasonably comparable type, although leaning extra in the direction of yellow fruits and pollen, with fewer coastal and mineral parts, however as an alternative we do discover some virgin wool. A number of touches of vanilla and coconut, nearly actually from the first fill bourbon cask. With water: orange peel, or moderately mandarin zest. Mouth (neat): straight into acidic fruits, recent rhubarb, lemon, not-very-ripe gooseberry, then a contact of liquorice and vanilla, although the coconut is nowhere to be discovered this time. In actual fact, we will not complain. With water: veering again in the direction of the basic profile, coastal and mineral. Wonderful. End: lengthy, with the arrival of inexperienced pepper, waxes and hints of indeterminate petroly derivatives. The White Home would possibly have the ability to enlighten us… Feedback: performs extraordinarily nicely following the fairly superlative 18-year-old from Frankfurt.
SGP:562 – 88 factors. |
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Orkney (HP) 14 yo 2010/2024 ‘Version #30’ (57.1%, Signatory Classic, 100 Proof, 1st fill oloroso sherry butt) 
I dare say the ‘HP’ on the label would possibly stand for extra than simply ‘excessive potential’. Color: amber. Nostril: the everyday sherry of this sequence, with roasted nuts and chocolate, hints of truffle, meatball soup, Maggi seasoning, toffee… With water: mushrooms and ferns, however above all lashings of chocolate fudge, even edging in the direction of mole sauce. Mouth (neat): a marked oloroso sherry type, dry but brimming with orange liqueur, heaps of black pepper and earth, and some stouty touches. With water: in the identical vein however more and more dominated by previous walnuts, whereas the salty edge turns into extra pronounced too. End: lengthy, on leek and rooster soup, grated darkish chocolate and nonetheless loads of pepper. Feedback: superb, even when we have drifted from the cleaner type of the earlier ones. A closely sherried profile inevitably dials again a little bit of distillate character.
SGP:461 – 84 factors. |
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Secret Orkney 14 yo 2010/2024 ‘Version #23’ (57.1%, Signatory Classic, 100 Proof, 1st & 2nd fill oloroso sherry butt) 
Not fairly the identical designation right here, we have gone from ‘Orkney (HP)’ to ‘Secret Orkney’. Slightly mysterious, wouldn’t you say… Color: gold. Nostril: clearly straddling each worlds, the truffle and leek have vanished, changed by extra orange and leather-based, the entire showing more energizing, fruitier, and unmistakably extra ‘HP’. Beeswax and a faint trace of camphor. With water: edging ever nearer to the ocean, with seaweed and saline manzanilla… Mouth (neat): touches of ginger and turmeric, spiced orange peel… With water: I like this an amazing deal, it’s vigorous regardless of the sherry, properly taut, all on citrus, pepper and heather honey after all. This feels nearer to the officers. End: a medicinal flip within the end, cough syrup laced with black pepper, orange liqueur and honey. A beautiful concoction that must treatment something. Wax within the aftertaste. Feedback: refill actually is a splendid factor.
SGP:562 – 86 factors. |
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Orkney 10 yo 2013 (57%, The Whisky Trade, Seasons: Winter, sherry hogshead)
Winter? Oops, seems like we’ve missed sherry monster season. Color: darkish amber. Nostril: a cleaner, fruitier sort of sherry, maybe extra on the ‘PX’ facet, with Corinth raisins, dried figs, Mars bars, bursts of forest flooring (moss, previous stumps) and fir honey. We completely adore fir honey at WF Towers. With water: pure official type, however official from the Nineties. Mild smoke, dried fruits, woodland notes, honeys, every thing’s in place. Properly completed! Mouth (neat): pretty wealthy, caramelised, loaded with three tonnes of raisins and a full lorry of figs and dried dates, plus a number of glacé cherries. And but it by no means goes ‘an excessive amount of’, which is close to miraculous. The distillate, quietly buzzing within the background, retains its saline and mineral body intact—maybe that’s why. With water: excellent, saline, smoky, mineral, but wealthy and honeyed on the similar time. End: lengthy, extra on black pepper, wealthy however curiously recent. We didn’t say refreshing, thoughts you. Feedback: a wise transfer, that is fairly flawless—I do hope they gained’t thoughts that I tasted this child in summer season.
SGP:552 – 88 factors. |
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Secret Orkney 17 yo 2004/2022 (53.1%, Whisky-Doris, twentieth Anniversary, sherry butt, cask #13, 240 bottles)
We’re somewhat late to the celebration, although we’ve already tasted some splendid HPs from Whisky-Doris prior to now… And in the event that they celebrated their twentieth in 2022, then they’re the identical age as little Whiskyfun! Hurray! Color: gold. Nostril: although it’s a butt once more, we’re proper again into extra conventional HP territory, with each softness and firmness, wax, honeys, baked apples, smoked paprika, crushed pepper… In a nutshell, it’s pretty stuff. With water: a number of wafts of walnut pores and skin, spent matches (simply the one, worry not) and chocolate. Oddly, the water has introduced out extra sherry than distillate. Mouth (neat): excellently fruity and taut, smoky, saline, wealthy but elegant, characterful, all on candied fruits and all method of citrus. It’s wonderful, I imagine we’re in high-score nation. With water: leather-based and tobacco, however all in advantageous steadiness. The salinity shines by way of. End: pretty lengthy, elegant, agency and but moderately wealthy. A sensation of smoked sultanas and seawater within the aftertaste. Beware, it wakes up! Feedback: very, very charming and fairly fascinating to comply with, particularly when you practise progressive discount (not a brand new neo-eco-Trotskyist political idea, relaxation assured).
SGP:652 – 89 factors. |
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Previous Orkney Malt 25 yo 1999/2025 (50.3%, Decadent Drinks, HHD + sherry butt)
Aged first in refill hogshead then completed in a sherry butt. Decadent Drinks now personal the ‘Double O’ or ‘O.O.’ marque, as soon as held by Stromness Distillery and later by Gordon & MacPhail. It’s genuinely a part of Scotland’s, and significantly Orkney’s, whisky heritage, so hats off to D.D. for retaining O.O. alive! And who is aware of, perhaps sooner or later they’ll unearth an previous cask of Stromness, lengthy forgotten in some derelict warehouse? That might nicely be the plot of ‘The Angel’s Share 2’, no? Somebody ought to say it to Ken Loach… Color: deep gold. Nostril: rooted within the earth, with final 12 months’s fruits, pipe tobacco, Thai broth, a field of Cuban cigars, and the exhaust of a sports activities automobile (so, no Tesla), extra mead than honey. With water: leather-based and bay leaf coming to the fore. Mouth (neat): firmer than anticipated, roasted and grilled, nearly barely burnt, all on chocolate and calmly salted espresso, with a shock look from prunes in Armagnac. Properly, fancy that… With water: again to dry sherry, nearly mustardy, and significantly on damp earth, dried meat, black pepper and pine needles. End: we’re now within the realm of very previous Madeira, Marsala or dry sherries. Feedback: it’s not the vacation spot that issues, it’s the journey, and right here’s an ideal illustration. That mentioned, I think about this bottle might divide opinion somewhat; it’s like free jazz, not everybody’s cup of tea (least of all ‘the neighbours’).
SGP:463 – 91 factors. |
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NB: The 2 Signatory bottlings which are closely sherried might sound barely beneath the others at first look, however that’s probably not the case. First, we at all times are likely to favour the cleaner variations, and secondly, these SigVs are supplied at rather more accessible costs than the others. So hats off to them, they’re wonderful HPs!
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