Highland Park : 32 Ans Gordon & MacPhail 1989

Characteristics and Tasting Notes for the Highland Park 32 Years Old 1989 Gordon & MacPhail

Tasting

Appearance

A deep gold to amber colour that bears witness to its long ageing in sherry casks.

Nose

The nose reveals a sophisticated expression marked by ripe fruit and spice with a discreet smokiness. One discovers a blend of juicy orchard fruits such as apricots, mirabelle plums and yellow apples, accompanied by light tropical touches of tinned pineapple. Beeswax, propolis and polished oak intertwine with overripe apples, lime zest and candied ginger. Vanilla, hints of bergamot oil, old waxed paper and heather honey round out this bouquet, enhanced by fragrances of brown sugar.

Palate

The palate opens with polished, lustrous notes, followed by mango, papaya and passion fruit jelly. Pineapple sherbet is joined by subtle mint, honey and fruit syrup. Candied fruit peel and blond tobacco precede ripe fruit and peppermint. A slightly herbaceous, minty character develops alongside notes of pepper and foliage. The finish is long and flavourful, with a lingering spiciness, very juicy and extended, showing persistent mango along with subtle chalky and earthy notes. Notes of sweet pepper and subtle fruit conclude with a trace of smoke.

Food Pairing Tips and Tasting Moments

This exceptional whisky is recommended as a meditation spirit, best enjoyed at 18°C to fully appreciate its aromatic complexity.

Mixology

This exceptional 32-year-old single malt deserves to be enjoyed neat, without any embellishment, in order to honour its unique character and rarity.

Other Characteristics

This Highland Park shows a medium-peated profile, with a subtle smokiness that discreetly accompanies its fruity and spicy aromas. Bottled at 51.9% without cold filtration and at natural strength, it retains all its authenticity.

An Exceptional, Medium-Peated Single Malt from the Orkney Islands, Aged 32 Years

Highland Park: A Historic Distillery in the Orkney Islands

Highland Park, a Scotch whisky distillery founded in 1798 on the Orkney Islands, remains one of the most northerly distilleries in Scotland. Founded, according to legend, by Magnus Eunson, a preacher and smuggler, it was developed by James Grant in 1890 before joining Highland Distillers in 1937. Now owned by the Edrington Group, Highland Park continues to uphold remarkable traditional methods: manual floor malting, the use of locally harvested peat, and a subtle blend of peated and unpeated malts. Its ageing in Spanish sherry casks and American bourbon casks, combined with the unique climatic conditions of the Orkney Islands, gives its expressions a distinctive aromatic complexity.

Highland Park 32 Years Old 1989: A Limited Edition from Gordon & MacPhail

This Highland Park 32 Years Old 1989 Gordon & MacPhail is part of the prestigious Connoisseurs Choice Upper range from the Scottish merchant bottler. Distilled in 1989, this single cask whisky was aged for 32 years in refill sherry butts, before being bottled in December 2021. This long maturation has allowed a more fruit-driven profile to develop than that typically produced by the distillery, setting this vintage apart from Highland Park's modern releases.

A Rare and Authentic Bottling

Bottled without cold filtration and at a natural strength of 51.9%, this whisky preserves all its aromatic integrity. Presented in a wooden case, this Highland Park 32 Years Old 1989 Gordon & MacPhail stands as a precious testament to the craftsmanship of the Orkney distillery and to Gordon & MacPhail's expertise in whisky ageing.