Scotchology

Highland Park 16 Year Twisted Tattoo

Since beginning their distillery on Orkney in 1798, Highland Park has been crafting scotch and working with artisans from around the world, continually reinventing itself while also holding true to their history and traditions. A recent rebranding effort has seen them lean more heavily into the Viking influence of that area of Scotland, often seen in evocative names to accompany the usual age statements. The Highland Park 16 Year is called the Twisted Tattoo after Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent of Norse legend. The design and packaging was the result of a partnership with Danish tattoo artist Colin Dale. Highland Park regularly uses ex-sherry casks as part of their standard maturation process but in the Twisted Tattoo, the scotch was finished in ex-Rioja casks.

By Adam | December 20, 2022 | Island | No Comments |

High Coast Distillery was founded in 2010 in the Swedish hamlet of Sörviken. The location was formerly a box factory and then power station. The High Coast name only came about during an expansion and rebrand in 2018, however. The distillery is situated beside the Ångerman River and also sources water from the nearby Lake Bålsjön. The extremely wide swing in temperature throughout the year, from -30°F in the winter to 70°F in the summer (not accounting for wind chill), mean that the casking process is accelerated more than almost any place on earth. Master distiller Roger Melander has been spending the past decade and more crafting whiskies worthy of the location and the expanded portfolio now includes four core offerings and dozens of limited editions including the earliest batches. The High Coast Hav, Swedish for “sea”, should maybe considered their gateway offering, consisting of a lightly peated whisky with oak influence predominating.

By Adam | December 10, 2022 | Foreign | No Comments |

Tomatin currently offers a portfolio largely comprised of age statement whiskies, some of them cask finishes. Cù Bòcan is the name of a legendary hellhound said to roam the area around the village of Tomatin and is also the distillery’s equivalent of their Skunk Works (or, closer to whisky than aircraft, Midleton’s Method and Madness micro distillery). It’s a place where Tomatin can experiment and try things outside their normal wheelhouse. The brand’s tagline is “Unlock the Unusual” and seeks to explore the smokier side of the Highland profile. The distillery distills lightly peated barley in small batches every winter, then matures them in a variety of wine casks before the blending process. The Cù Bòcan represents a long return of sorts for the distillery, as they were one of the first distilleries to move away from using peat to smoke their barley after WWII.

By Adam | November 30, 2022 | Highland | No Comments |