Orkney Single Malt Hogshead 'Full Cask' No 9
⏳ Drinking Window
As a distilled spirit, this single malt does not mature further in the bottle; it is ready to be enjoyed immediately upon release and will remain in peak condition indefinitely if stored upright and away from direct light.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Smoked salmon or cured meats, mature blue cheeses such as Stilton, and rich dark chocolate desserts.
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the windswept Orkney Islands, Highland Park is deeply steeped in Norse mythology and Viking heritage. The distillery's unique character is shaped by Orkney's treeless, maritime landscape, where the peat used to dry the malted barley is rich in ancient, decomposed heather. This imparts a signature floral, honeyed sweetness and a gentle, aromatic smoke. This 2008 vintage single malt, matured in a single hogshead cask (No 9), represents a pure, concentrated expression of this northern terroir. Bottled at cask strength, it showcases the interplay between the distillery's coastal, heather-honey profile and the delicate oak influence of the hogshead, delivering a complex dram of maritime brine, sweet malt, and soft peat.
🍾 About the Producer
Perched on the windswept Orkney archipelago off Scotland's northern coast, Highland Park was founded in 1798 by illicit distiller Magnus Eunson before securing official licensing in 1826. Owned by Edrington and directed by Master Whisky Maker Marc Watson, the distillery remains one of the few in Scotland to maintain traditional floor maltings for a portion of its barley. Terroir here is inextricably linked to the island's environment: Orkney's tree-deficient landscape yields heather-rich peat harvested from nearby Hobbister Moor, imparting an aromatic, floral smoke fundamentally distinct from the medicinal iodine of Islay. Distillation occurs in copper pot stills, followed by patient maturation predominantly in sherry-seasoned European and American oak casks within maritime dunnage warehouses. Celebrated benchmark expressions include the flagship 12, 18, and 21 Year Old releases, as well as ultra-aged rarities such as the Orcadian Vintage Series and landmark 40- and 50-year-old single malts.