Is the hate deserved? | Highland Park 18 REVIEW

[@kylewipert11]

I really enjoy Highland Park’s Cask Strength and the Orkney IBs are very good as well.

[@DileepB]

The expensive18 year old Travel Exclusive in the black bottle is excellent.

[@Gwhisky]

Love that one! 🥃

[@xxacidmv]

I really enjoy the 18... but the 12 (in the US) and the CS are just so good at a lower price that I favor them over the 18. I believe I paid ~$165 last year for it, but it is currently going for $185. Thanks for the info on the batch number, I didn't even realize it was there.

[@GOTAisMe]

$185 at Total Wine in the NY area. It's also not an older edition. No thank you. I have been able to pick up the cask strength Highland Park bottles for around $80 and they are absolutely worth that

[@Gwhisky]

Yeah this can't compete with the CS from a value perspective. At least in your market. They're roughly the same price here! 🥃

[@pimoolthuis]

Finally subscribed to your channel! You're certainly not the first whisky-centred channel that I follow, but I like your style of presentation nonetheless!

[@Gwhisky]

Very kind of you to say. Thank you and welcome! 🥃

[@WhiskyWolf514]

Hey Geoff Great review and right on with the jokes haha That's an enviously great deal for an 18 year old (whisky )or just the HP in general. You lucky dude 🥃 Thanks for the review Buddy! Have a great week! Cheers 🥃🥃🎩

[@ps3inquisition441]

I finished a bottle of the 18 recently that had been open for about 8 years. Good stuff, but not spectacular. Have another bottle coming, will be interesting to see how a fresh crack goes.

[@GeoffreyBangers]

My favorite Highland Park is the NAS Valkyrie Strength Shield of Odin Dragon Tears Honor Hammer. Also, the 12yr is pleasant enough and pretty well priced where I am in the Northeastern US. Cheers!

[@hansvaneenennaam457]

Hi Geoff, great review. Never had the 18 but I do like the regular 12, and will try the 10 shortly. In the Netherlands the regular 18 as well as the travel retail 18 are 144,95 euro's at a big on line shop.

[@Gwhisky]

That's quite pricey, but still somewhat cheaper than most other markets, it seems. Cheers buddy. 🥃

[@ffll8427]

the fact that this is from 2017 is really noteworthy. I don't want to be a party pooper but at least the 12 year old has gotten considerably less impressive in that time frame.

[@Solinvicti]

The previous version of the 12 in the old bottle was amazing. Bought the Viking honour 12 bottling and it was terrible.

[@ffll8427]

@@Solinvicti yes. if you get the current 12 year old in a blind tasting, i guarantee you won't be able to pick it out as a HP spirit. I don't know what they are doing to it, but it's horrible compared to what it was. still a drinkable whisky, mind you, but not at all what a highland park should be.

[@garynapolitano1270]

I received this HP 18 as a gift. Its smooth & delicious! Closest to Springbank 15 I’ve had. Both are great!

[@StavPLK]

Never paid much attention to HP, really, and the few official bottling i tasted/owned (12 and 14) were a bit disappointing, to say it nicely. Especially the 14 I picked up at some travel retail.. But, I manage to buy some Indy’s on auctions.. and just fell in love with Highland Park. I got 2 cadenhead’s (28 and 27 port cask), a 2001 17yo GM and a 1988 23yo SV. They are all fantastic. Although they ‘re more expensive (except for the GM around 150€) the quality is here and worth the money. I totally fell in love with this delicate floral peat notes, among other ones. That said, it shows that the distillate is fantastic, and it’s a shame so bottle such OB’s. So, my advice, go to IB’s for great HP ! Great review as always, Cheers 🥃

[@Gwhisky]

Couldn't agree more. IB HPs can be incredible, and they're a great way to get to know the brand in a not-so-engineered way. Cheers! 🥃

[@peterruffolo700]

I haven't had the chance to try HP 18 since the 2016 release, before they went for Viking-themed bottles. At that time it was easily one of the best scotches I'd ever had. I paid that bottle 180$ in 2018. Late last year, there was a release of HP 18 that sold for 235$ CAN here. Surprisingly, it sold out extremely quickly. When the next batch became available only a few weeks later, there was a massive price jump to 389$!!! I've never seen such a massive price hike. I guess some people knew that increase was coming and stocked up

[@cato451]

I've been drinking the HP 18 yo for well over 35 years. It used to be my weekly go to. It was very affordable to do that ($60 back in the day). Not anymore at $180. Now it's more of a every once in a while whisky. It has changed over the years but still really good.

[@ramieldam2917]

I have an old label bottle from 2010. Do you think the quality was better back then?

[@Vergos001]

I really enjoyed this bottle

[@jamesbroadfoot5269]

HP 18 is $175 in Dallas and was recently part of a buy 3 bottles save 20% deal at a major retailer here. I was tempted but ended up passing... even $140 seems steep and I'm done with all the hikes. I went with the regular 12 and a bottle of Royal Brackla for a combined ton with tax. No regrets, although Dalmore 12 sherry and cigar malt were also part of that 20% deal.

[@damenjackson594]

I've never tried the 18, but I certainly hope to this holiday season. I am currently drinking the 12, and I think it quite nice, FWIW. That said, it does beg the question, what are currently your expressions of choice? Just curious.

[@mjanovec]

I toured Highland Park last October and was told that a rebranding was coming this year. They are moving away from the Viking themes in their marketing. They are also going to be releasing less NAS whisky moving forward, focusing more on the core lineup. I hope this translates to better 12 and 18 year bottles in the future. I’ve been a longtime fan of the 12 and 18 year Highland Parks, but admittedly I think the older style bottles are more consistently good. Whenever I run across bottles of the older designs I add them to my collection. I haven’t been drinking many of the “Viking” bottles as I have plenty of the older bottles to keep me going for a while. Having said that, the recent cask strength bottles have been excellent and are the best HP currently available (if you can find them). They are also non-chill-filtered, which is a move in the right direction.

[@Phuiston]

This is a great bottle as a birthday gift. The price is not too high to break the bank, but still feels like a proper present. You can say the "mildness" is actually luxurious, and this works very well for both whisky enthusiasts and normies alike.

[@tommysimpsonandtheloadeddice]

How many open bottles do you have?

[@Gwhisky]

Around 100 or so.

[@tommysimpsonandtheloadeddice]

@@Gwhisky I'm so glad you said that because was feeling bad about having about 70 open. 😀

[@chentim1751]

This pre 2017 bottle is better than Viking theme 18, but hard to get now, great review as always, Geoff, thanks!

[@Koby616]

I love there corks, they are pretty cool. I only had HP 10, Haven't tried 12 or CS yet. I would love to get cask strength one, 18 is 130€ and I don't Wana spend that much for it. Thanks for review 😊

[@darlsbarkley3493]

@@Koby616 130 would be a very reasonable price if they were still as good as they were 20 years ago.

[@gordonhall9943]

When I bought mine to gift a friend it was ~150 in New Jersey, US.

[@ianphillips103]

I can't speak of the old 18 Yrs, but the 2023 edition I got last year was pretty good. I found a store with some "Secret Orkney Malt" Cask Strength Signatorys 16 yr and 17 Yr at basically the same price point I paid for the 18 last year so I can't wait to snag one soon.

[@inf0phreak]

I have an HP18 from way back before the rebrand to the viking nonsense and it's good. Not blow your mind good, but good. Decently enough priced as well - at least for an 18 YO bought in a specialty shop that charges a bit of a premium on everything.

[@PezrulezHaakon]

Thank you for the review. I got my bottle a few years ago when it cost $85 USD. Steep for me, but I wanted to try it out for personal experience, since I had the 12yo, wich I wasn't crazy about. The 12yo was acceptable back then in price. I did enjoy the 18yo more, but there were many other whiskys in that price range I liked better. Now the 18yo is $133 USD here in Sweden. And for that price, I would never ever replace that bottle. I won't replace the 12yo either. But I do have three diffrent CS bottles left, wich I really enjoy.

[@boswineguy5461]

Recently tasted the current lineup at a shop and actually liked the 15 over the 18 and both over the 12 unsurprisingly. The peat and sherry notes on the 18 were more muted than on the 15. I like the old 12 with the green label better than all 3.

[@lesterlau]

You got an incredible deal on that bottle @Gwhisky! I looked for one myself right after you mentioned it, and the price had somehow reverted to like $120 or so. 😅

[@Paratus7]

My favourite whisky. Brilliant.

[@thewhiskyenthusiast]

Ah man this is a delicious whisky, the travel retail one is better but both are pretty. From what I've seen of the core range the 15 is the most divisive one of them all. Overall a good distillery acting a bit silly for sure. Cheers dude!

[@Gwhisky]

Apparently the rebrand I mentioned in the video is confirmed, so I'm looking forward to trying the updated range. Cheers! 🥃

[@peathead4450]

Great review as usual, Geoff. Haven't tried this one so no complains... if I should have try to purchase it, the would be immediate complains (regarding the price of course as I'm Dutch) Slàinte mhath

[@brukuns]

I have the 46%, awesome whisky. Can hang with big boys such as the GlenDonach 18.

[@TheSurgeHunter]

Highland Park 18 is 130 euros on sale here... I just got 2 bottles of the 46% Travel Retail for 112 euros each on sale. Weird pricing going on in the Netherlands.

[@goldorak1962]

SAQ in Québec it's $389.25 paid $200 2-3 years ago.

[@darlsbarkley3493]

That's crazy. Sounds like a Canada issue, not a highland Park issue. It's only gone up a few dollars in the last decade in the US.

[@ArnoldToporowski]

also $389 in Ontario LCBO. sometimes I think SAQ and LCBO are conspiring with price-fixing

[@darlsbarkley3493]

@@ArnoldToporowski of course. It's literally a government monopoly.

[@Gwhisky]

Judging from the comments, it's just wildly overpriced pretty much all across the country. I wonder if it's more reasonable in Alberta. 🥃

[@goldorak1962]

@@Gwhisky Not much, it's available between $300 and $350

[@mtpanning]

I don't hate Highland Park. I just don't really like it. It's ... fine.

[@terrortower666]

I just look over it these days tbh. Just better options out there imo

[@hansvonb]

HP is not my favourite but looked 18YO up and it sells for equivalent of 170EUR over here 😢

[@Brad-ic4bp]

I haven’t run across this one yet, but I did try the 15 year, in the porcelain bottle, but that was over $100 and based on that, I wouldn’t pay much more than $120 to try the 18 year.

[@Gwhisky]

Agree that the 15 was underwhelming for the price. 🥃

[@ironmantran]

Wad up ! . . . 400 $CA in Ontario, boss G. . . i have not bought anything from Park since 2014 . . . a cousin of MacAlbert from eglinton fame , sadly priced for bitcoiners - or numbnuts.

[@williamjefferson6128]

I hope you'll review the Speyburn 18 behind you!

[@Gwhisky]

I already have! 🥃

[@murgh]

It's US$ 165/£ 130 in Norway. Shan't buy, but I'd love to come across a Dark Origins.

[@biofixphysicaltherapy5353]

I like the highland park 18🤷‍♂️

[@SaltyCuban]

This was $120 back in 2016. I still have the bottle, which is from like 2013. So $80 is very cheap. I’ve had multiple minis, but have yet to open this older bottle.

[@Gwhisky]

Good one to save for a special occasion! 🥃

[@ADSCP]

Where I live (Portugal) costa between 150 and 200 euros.

[@jimdavids6708]

I have been binging on your reviews, haven’t seen you score anything above 93 ? Did I miss something ? You didn’t do the Balvenie 18 PX which is my current fav, though I haven’t tasted anything older than a 21

[@paulm749]

Yes, Highland Park 18 is VASTLY over-priced in Texas. Currently it's listed at $176.99 and that is at a major discount retailer. I was fortunate enough to have a local independent retailer who had a substantial stock of pre-2017 (pre-viking marketing) but that finally ran out 2 years ago. That was priced at $120.00, and was well worth it. I bought a single bottle of the current 18yo for $150.00 when this retailer got his first shipment last year and I will never buy another; it had a weak nose, poorly integrated flavor notes and a short finish. I let the bottle sit for months, tasting it periodically, but it never improved to a substantial degree. Seriously, I've had much better HP 12, at least in the past. Except for the occasional IB bottling, I'm done with Highland Park.

[@MrChristopherMolloy]

Coincidence: I just bought a Highland Park 12 (43%) for $44 and it included a 50ml sample of HP18 (43%), which itself works out to about $27 🙌

[@petterstromfelt4640]

Where?

[@MrChristopherMolloy]

@@petterstromfelt4640 remedy liquors

[@MrChristopherMolloy]

@@petterstromfelt4640 Remedy Liquors

[@MrChristopherMolloy]

Remedy in California, but they ship to NYC.

[@petterstromfelt4640]

With bargains like that they should ship to sweden 😅

[@lagerman42]

I’ve been lucky enough to try the 18 at 43% and loved it but unfortunately I can’t afford it at $250-$300 in Australia ☹️

[@Gwhisky]

Ouch! 😬

[@stromghouls]

Highland Park prices went to the stratosphere during the last 4 years.

[@welshtoro3256]

A fine and sensible review my old mate. I'm not sure if people hate Highland Park 18 if I'm honest. It just got left behind as a talking point years ago. Before the whisky boom it carried a healthy reputation when folk drank a lot of 40 and 43% whisky but it was tainted with the old slippers and fireside image along with Glenfiddich and the like. It was probably a far better whisky than its currant incarnation and likely to have had older stuff in it as was the norm. My only bottle was probably a vintage like yours and I found it underwhelming when it cost £100. It needs more body and that means more abv. My favourite distillery HP for the past few years was the Twisted Tattoo 16 which was over 46%, far more interesting and much cheaper. I don't hate it but it's just a nothing whisky to me. I'd recommend it to somebody starting off with deep pockets but that's it. I'd rather spend £125 on so many other bottles that it's never going to get a look in. WT

[@Gwhisky]

To clarify, I don't think HP is a hated brand. Often mocked, maybe, but not hated. The 18 specifically gets a bit of hate, though, and that's largely a pricing issue. I'm very happy for what I paid, but seeing what this goes for in other markets, I can appreciate why most folks are far less charmed than I am. Overpriced with weak specs. I'm told the newer bottles aren't as good, either. 🥃

[@bullseye0112]

Have you tried drinking whiskey out of a brandy glass It's amazing

[@Gwhisky]

I don't think I have!

[@bullseye0112]

@@Gwhisky It is an incredible flavor enhancer and really lets the whiskey open up more in your glass and have it be less compact if that makes any sense. Also it's nice to nose The whiskey without burning your nostrils because it's so concentrated 🤣

[@MuskieMcKay]

They are rebranding. I asked them when I toured the distillery in March.

[@Gwhisky]

Interesting. Thanks for confirming! 🥃

[@WhiskyLoversSociety]

HP cask strength is lovely in my opinion. Nice video as usual.

[@dfrever216]

Costs around $220 dollars in Brazil, but its not just HP, anything that is not a Johnny Walker or a singleton is crazy expensive here.

[@Gwhisky]

Ouch! Yeah I hear Brazil is super expensive. 🫤

[@stevenmilos6585]

$352 CAD in Vancouver, BC. We definitely do not get Taiwan prices.

[@Gwhisky]

Geeeeeeeez. Forget it! 🥃

[@mevech]

In Sweden this cost 140 USD 😭

[@MortAllachie]

Lucky you 😂 158 USD in Norway

[@kirbyculp3449]

Save your kroner. HP is mediocre.

[@MortAllachie]

@@kirbyculp3449 At best... Not wasting my money on that over, overhyped stuff 😊

[@alexandermitev5189]

i have the travel retail version with 46% (the one u really liked :) )and im not impressed, its a nice whisky but nothing special, tastes quite much younger. Tbh ive never had an hp that really impressed me, its probably just not my distillery.

[@losnoobos7938]

I have a love/hate relationship with Highland Park. I've stopped buying distillery bottlings and prefer to look for independent bottlings. As for the HP 18: even though it's a bit watery at 43%, it's still a reasonably tasty whisky. But not at the high price that shops in Europe are asking for it these days...

[@chivse7064]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 Hi sir which one whiskey 5 stars 🌟 🙏

[@TheReal_DeanD]

Highland Park 18 year is now $177 US before tax. Pre-pandemic it was 104ish. I got lucky and got a bottle from 2013 and a bottle from 2017at around $100 each. I’m not buying Highland Park 18 year ever again. What I have is good but if I had to pay over $180 for it now I would be very unhappy.

[@frankol4575]

$179.99 in Chicago

[@Gwhisky]

Ouch!

[@frankol4575]

Not exactly related but thought it may be interesting….Loch Lomond 18 is normally 124.99 (at Binny’s Beverage Depot, chain store) on sale for $69.99. Don’t think I’m getting on that one.

[@fullr3t4rd]

$174.99 state min in Michigan

[@Gwhisky]

Quite high. 🥃

[@hunamsafee2]

Ok I love highland park 18. However I like the 12 just as much. Neither are even close to the cask strength

[@simongilbert2704]

that is a bargain ;;

[@timshulepov]

8:23 -- how dare, you, Geoff, buy it for that price?! This is a crime! A crime in broad daylight I tell you!

[@bluesmanen1]

Nice review. Personaly I've never been a fan of Highland Park, except for some indie bottles that I've tried, they were really great. But the standard bottles leaves more to wish for. i tasted the 18yo about 5 years ago at a bar before a whisky tasting, and I thought it was ok, not more. The price here in Sweden is a fixed price, never any special offers here, it's sek1395 ($133) in todays currency...is it worth that money??....imho...absolutley NO...I can get 2 bottles of, for example, Craigellachie 13yo for that money, and also quite a few beers...so for me it's an easy choise. Cheers

[@Gwhisky]

Agree it's a bad bang-for-buck whisky in most places. Seems your US $133 in Sweden is actually on the cheap side compared to most markets! 🥃

[@christophershreiner5114]

Is it “look-see” or “looksy/looksey/looksie”? 🤔

[@iliastsiphlidis4607]

Over $300 in Oz. I am not sure I like you anymore… 😮😂 getting all these whiskeys at affordable prices! All jokes aside, so interesting that prices are so wildly different but I gave started thinking of moving to Taiwan.

[@Gwhisky]

Yeah it's pretty crazy how wildly different some markets are. That said... Australians and Canadians seem to suffer the most. Condolences. 🥃

[@iliastsiphlidis4607]

@@Gwhisky apparently there are taxes on alcohol and tobacco here in Australia that are added every six months. A pack of cigarettes costs about $50 and a simple red JW cost about the same. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@SimonneNZ]

I'm not a fan of Highland Park. I've had the 12-year-old before and didn't like it. At the time I also had the Glenfiddich 12 and preferred that over the HP12. Never tried another HP. Judging from reviews an Indie bottling might be worth a try though. The 18-year-old retails between $250 - $270 NZD (approx. $150 - $160 USD), but that is beyond my budget as are most 18-year-old whiskies. Cheers!

[@Gwhisky]

Good call. I think if you'd like to get into HP and you're trying to find one with good bang-for-buck, the IB world is the best place to look. Cheers Simonne! 🥃

[@deeshmond]

Really enjoy this stuff. But will never buy a bottle due to the cost. It should be literally half the price.

[@torbjornkarlsen]

In Norway it's the equivalent to £124 or 162 USD. I've tried it and it's really nice but no thanks! I think it's unethical to pay anywhere close to that kind of money for a chill filtered whisky.

[@Lovemelikeareptile]

Not going to lie, their bottle design turns me off. And if you factor in price, it's a no-go. Here in Vancouver it's an eye watering 350 Canucklebux, which is too many loonies for me to shell out. (If you add tax, it's now $400... fuck that shit.) The Bunna 18 is cheaper by a margin so I'll gladly drink that instead.

[@Gwhisky]

Absolutely absurd prices in Canada... 🥃

[@vimalrajkappil]

It's just too underpowered and the world's moved on. We expect more from a premium whisky nowadays.'

[@darlsbarkley3493]

It's not that the world moved on from highland Park 18. It's that HP 18 has gone downhill in quality pretty substantially. The older dumpy bottles were pretty great.

[@_fwd_racecar_]

take this review with a grain of salt, a slice of lime, and don't drink the worm.

[@haehne]

martin markvardsen, their brand ambassador, confirmed that they will stop their viking-themed expressions so that people like you will not be put off by the names any more.

[@donrumgay5200]

Highland Park Distillery has been closed to the public all Spring and Summer for major overhauling….so waiting to see what is going on behind closed doors… I will never understand why you whisky snobs…(yes i said it …SNOBS) will hate on a whisky just because you don’t like the design of the bottles…you are worse than w(h)ine people….it could be shipped in a box for all i care as long as what comes out of said box is good stuff…(i might be exaggerating a bit)…Now the 18 used to be one of my favorite HP expressions, but they have upped the price to the point where i no longer buy it…i still like it, there are just ones i like better at that price point….

[@Gwhisky]

Nobody says the presentation matters and I didn't hate on the whisky for it. It's a separate score and I do that just for fun. Feel free to ignore it.

[@lodgelawyer]

I tend to view Highland Park with "a grain of salt." Just too many at comparable prices that I find to be superior to their product.

[@paulhenner8914]

Tried it ZERO points boring !

[@Gwhisky]

I hear the newer bottles aren't great.

[@iancrombie8862]

Bought this about 6 years ago,when about £90..probably at least double that now..dont buy this brand anymore...

[@Gwhisky]

That's fair. 🥃

[@ursoouindio]

I found the regular 18 yo quite underwhelming.

[@Dyingtoliv]

At 126€ I've never been tempted to pick up this specific bottle, though I'm not much of a highland park fangirl in general

[@Gwhisky]

Interestingly, that's cheaper than the vast majority of other markets. This stuff is well overpriced in most places. 🥃