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“Because you can't buy happiness... but you can buy whisky and that's pretty much the same thing”

Read stories about Highland Park of A Wardrobe of Whisky blog.

You can read here older articles posted in A Wardrobe of Whisky since 2009.
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Reviewing Highland Park Leif Eriksson

By Miguel in Tasting , Highland Park

“Adorable vanilla and toffee aromas on this non age statement whisky from Highland Park”

90
Highland Park Leif Eriksson
Originally released in March 2011, Highland Park Leif Erikson was originally a travel retail exclusive.

In celebration of Erikson's trip to the New World this Highland Park single malt without age statement is made up of ex-bourbon and sherry casks, all made from American oak.

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. toffee, floral, malt, vanilla, spices.

Palate (89): smooth. honey, floral, spices, wood, heather, apples.

Finish (90): longer than average. honey, floral, toffee.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Highland Park Leif Eriksson with 90 points over 100.

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Highland Park Thor Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Highland Park

“The peat hammer of Thor from Highland Park. But what does a nordic god have to do with sherry?”

89
Highland Park Thor - 16 Year Old
The beginning of a new range of four whiskies from Highland Park, The Valhalla Collection.

Valhalla Collection shows off Orkney's ancient links with Scandinavia and the distillery's love of history.

First up is Thor, God of Thunder and alleged architect of the Cliffs of Yesnaby on the west coast of Orkney Mainland.

It's a 16 year old whisky bottled at a full proof of 52.1% and presented in a wooden frame styled after the prow of a viking longboat.

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. peat, honey, spices, dried fruits, citrus, almonds. Massive nose.

Palate (89): powerful, oily. peat, nuts, wood, honey, spices, vanilla, citrus. Slightly unbalanced sherry taste but still very nice.

Finish (89): longer than average. Peat, honey, spices.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Highland Park Thor - 16 Year Old with 89 points over 100.

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Better than sex: One year of whisky blogging!

By Miguel in News , Featured , The Macallan , Kilchoman , Highland Park

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough.”

What the hell! No way. But it has been a quite interesting and fun year. It looks as it was yesterday but this blog has turned one year today.

Stripper cake

Only a year but it has been a great travel of personal discovery: whisky, history, facts, geography and friends.

Before I started blogging I was already collecting malt whiskies but I wasn’t really interested in how they tasted. One day I decided to open one miniature of Compass Box Spice Tree and I was impressed about how good it was. Then another, and another, and another. And just one day I decided to write tasting notes about what I was drinking. I could have do it the way other great whisky blogs does, but being myself engineer (Dilbert! You are not alone!) I preferred the hard way: write tasting notes so a computer can process them and do interesting things with it. Just a few months later I created whisky-o-matic, which is really fun if you haven’t tried yet!.

I have learnt lots of things about how whisky is made, how barley is grown, how water is chosen based in its characteristics. I have learnt a lot about ageing of whisky and how the wood influence the final result, with two bottles of a great Laphroaig 10 years old Cask Strength sacrificed in the altar of knowledge.

I still have to improve my world geography but now I know where Islay, Orkney, Kentucky and Hokkaido are situated.

And I have known great people related to whisky: from bloggers like Galg of WhiskyIsral, Steve of The Whisky Wire, Ruben of Whisky Notes, John Hansell of MaltWhisky Advocate, Billy Abbott of Billy’s Booze Blog, John Campbell of Laphroaig for their invitation to Laphroaig Live 2010, Richard Barr who shared with me a whole Whiskylive show. Special thanks for the chaps at Master of Malt for their support during this year.

Crying already? Feeling emotional?
Ok, so let’s get back to the crude bare numbers! :)

Naked Statistics

This year can be resumed in a few numbers and two or three great posts.

  • 1 year
  • 365 days
  • 1 whisky show ( hey! I have had to fight for that single one a lot! )
  • 619 bottles of whisky bought ( don’t panic! Most of them are samples! )
  • 372 tasting notes written.
  • 356 posts published.
  • 150K visits. ( and growing! )
  • Tasted Macallan 30 years old Fine Oak.
  • Bought a bottle of Highland Park Earl Haakon.
  • Drink Kilchoman Inagural Release.
  • A new son ordered.
  • Built a whisky library for reference.

Sensual promises for the future

Those are my promises for the future.

  • 2 whisky shows ( I must be at The Whisky Show 2012 and Maltstock 2012. At least! )
  • Less whisky bought. ( My wife is going to kill me. And the worst thing is that she may be right about it )
  • More tasting notes.
  • More and better articles about distilleries.
  • Better whisky-o-matic suggestions.
  • More friends, more social. ( Did you know you can submit your own tasting notes for whisky-o-matic now? )

Thank you all for this great year.

Yours sincerely,
Miguel


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WhiskyLive Madrid 2011: A whisky show at Spain's heart

By Miguel in News , Featured , Destilerias Liber , Laphroaig , Lagavulin , DYC , Cardhu , St George , The Macallan , Compass Box , Glenfiddich , Highland Park , Bowmore , Suntory , Yamazaki , Redbreast , Edradour , Talisker

Taking place at the Madrid business center, at the Hotel Villamagna, this whisky fair, although small, has been really interesting with lots of surprises.

Hotel Villa Magna at Madrid

Before attending the show, I meet Richards Barr, a member of Whiskyisrael that was also attending the show and we went there together after having a tasty Spanish lunch.
Richard Barr and Miguel Angel Blanch after 25 drams of whisky at Whiskylive Madrid

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Highland Park 12 years old Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Highland Park
89
Highland Park 12 year
The first proprietary bottling of Highland Park single malt Scotch whisky was as a 12 year old in 1979.

It remains the core expression of the Highland Park range and is a smooth, balanced single malt, with a rich full flavour and a gentle smokey finish.

In fact this is the smokier bottling of all the range. If you like this Highland Park 12 years old, you should try the 18 years old.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (92): inexistent. sweet, peat, heather, honey, spices, a little tobacco. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (88): . sweet, peat, wood, spices, honey, floral, grass. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (88): no finish. peat, wood, spices, tobacco. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Highland Park 12 year with 89 points over 100.

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Highland Park 13 years old Single Cask from Master of Malt Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Master of Malt , Highland Park
88
Highland Park 13 year Master of Malt
A delicious 13 year old Highland Park we bottled in 2010, this was distilled in 1997, and aged in a single refill bourbon hogshead. An run of just 281 incredible bottles, at natural cask strength with nothing added and nothing taken away!

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (88): inexistent. sweet, peat, heather, floral, wood, meat stock. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (92): . hot, sweet, wood, spices, heather, tobacco, vanilla, complex, a torrent of flavor on your mouth. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (84): no finish. wood, spices,heather, fruity, pears and notes of orange. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Highland Park 13 year Master of Malt with 88 points over 100.

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