Highland Park Magnus

A light and youthful Single Malt in the classic Orkney style.

Highland Park is the most northerly distillery in Scotland on the Okrney Islands. Legend has it that it was founded by Whisky smuggler Magnus Eunson in the late 1700s and that he used his position as a church officer to conceal Whisky beneath the church pulpit. Don’t assume that “Highland Park” means their Whisky is made in the Highland style. In character, their spirit is closer to a midpoint between Lowland and Islay Single Malts. Perhaps the most famous Whisky connoisseur of all time — journalist Michael Jackson — called Highland Park, “The greatest all-rounder in the world of Malt Whisky.”

As you’ve no doubt read, Magnus Eunson was the founder of Highland Park Distillery. So it’s not surprising that they’ve named a few honorary bottles and editions after their patriarch — in fact there have been at least four that I can recall. Highland Park Magnus is the latest iteration, released as a core offering for the first time in 2017. It’s an NAS expression aged in a higher percentage of Sherry-seasoned American oak casks — with the remainder in ex-Bourbon casks. It’s lighter than it’s longer-aged brothers and a solid entry point for the Highland Park line-up.