Highland Park 21 yr. old: pack your bags!
December 3rd, 2007The good news: I just tasted the new Highland Park 21 year old and it’s one of the best Highland Parks I have ever tasted (and I’ve probably tasted more than 100 over the past several years).
The bad news: It’s the new release for Travel Retail (formerly Duty Free).
This whisky is lush, well-balanced, and very complex. Well-defined notes of toffee, candied fruit, and roasted nuts, are accentuated by background honey, chocolate mousse, and smoke. And here’s the icing on the cake: it’s bottled at 47.5% which really allows the flavors to shine.
You can have all this comfort and joy for $99. (Airline ticket and transport to/from the airport is extra).
December 20th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I was at Dulles Airport terminal B last Friday and they had lots of HP18 but no HP21. When can we expect to see these HP21’s showing up in the US?
December 20th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Sorry, but I don’t know if or when it will make it to U.S. Travel Retail (Duty Free). It did roll out in October in the U.K., so your best bet for now is to find someone flying overseas.
December 21st, 2007 at 7:56 am
Tom, I asked the Global Controller for Highland Park about the HP 21 being available in U.S. Duty Free and here’s what he had to say:
“I can confirm that DFS–the North American duty free operator have listed this expression and it will start appearing on shelves in the first quarter of next year.”
So, you’ll still have to leave the country to buy it, but you’ll be able to purchace a bottle on your way out of the country, as well as on your way back.
December 22nd, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Great news…I have co-workers going to Asia and Europe all the time. I’ll let you know where they find it. We have taken this on as a bit of a quest.
December 23rd, 2007 at 8:32 am
Good luck. It’s worth the effort.
January 12th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Highland Park 21 confirmed at Heathrow by a friend who was just passing through yesterday. I’ll have some in my hands when he gets back from India in 2 weeks.
January 12th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Fantastic! Something to look forward to.
January 26th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Just tried the new Highland Park 21. A friend returning from London picked it up for me. Very, very nice! One of the best HP’s I’ve tried. Very smooth and just the right amount of smokiness. Nice mouth feel and good finish. Even my wife liked it, and that’s saying a lot! I’m already trying to find others flying international to pick me up another.
January 27th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Thanks to my good friend Ken, I have a bottle in my hands now (he brought back 5 bottles from Heathrow today!). Unfortunately, I can’t drink it because I have a cold.
FYI, it was £60 for a 70cl bottle. I paid him $120.
January 27th, 2008 at 7:49 am
Bob, Tom: Glad to hear your quests for this delicious whisky was successful.
Cheers,
John
January 29th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I have an update on the availability of the HP 21 in Duty Free shops. It is now in the U.S. Duty Free shops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, and shortly at Terminal 4 at JFK.