Orkney Single Malt Refill Hogshead 'Full Cask' No 1023
⏳ Drinking Window
As a distilled spirit, this single malt does not mature further in the bottle and is ready to enjoy immediately upon release. It will remain in peak condition indefinitely if stored upright, cool, and away from direct light.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Smoked wild salmon, mature blue cheeses such as Stilton, and rich dark chocolate desserts.
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the wind-swept Orkney Islands, Highland Park is one of Scotland's most remote and historic distilleries, founded in 1798 by Magnus Eunson, a direct descendant of Viking settlers. This single malt, matured in a single refill hogshead (Cask No 1023), showcases the distillery's legendary maritime character. Orkney's treeless, gale-brushed landscape produces a unique peat composed almost entirely of decomposing heather. When burned to dry the malted barley, it imparts a delicate, aromatic, and sweet floral smoke rather than the medicinal, heavy peat found in Islay whiskies. Maturation in a refill hogshead allows this coastal terroir and the distillery's signature heather-honey sweetness to take center stage, yielding a highly complex, unadulterated expression of Orkney's rugged heritage.
🍾 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.