Highland Park Cask Strength No. 2 vs. No. 3 - Whisk(e)y Review 216

[@battiekoda]

I know I'm late to the party on this vid, but I gotta say, upon first seeing you, I couldn't help but to think: "The Dude!....." (I hope you get the reference). Made my day. Thank you. 😉

[@TheReal_DeanD]

My local total wine just put batch 2 and 3 on sale for $74 before tax. After watching this I’ll head on over to buy them.

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

Nice price! Be curious to hear what you think

[@Jeremy-sf2xf]

I purchased a number two today and have been enjoying it. As I do when I buy a new bottle while enjoying it I like to watch reviewers on it. I have noticed quite a few reviewers say it doesn't say anything about color but it does. On the right hand side just below the part of non chill filtered it talks about the color. It says "The whisky's naturally deep colour is driven entirely by our casks, without additives."

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

Thank you for catching this! I will be sure to mention this correction on my liveshow tonight as well as in the description of this video.

[@Jeremy-sf2xf]

@@MaltMuserWhisky thank you for the reply. 😆 LOL I hate spell check and I don't know how it got what it said from what I said but hey at least you got what I was trying to say. What time is your live streams? I am just freshly getting into Scotch. I used to hate brown liquors. I was a dirty gin martini and beer guy. For over a decade. Then with in the last year or so I needed some bourbon to make some BBQ sauce and I am not one to want Stuff to go to waste and I really don't like barbecue sauce that much I just forced down the left overs and some how that turned me into loving Scotch. Now I have been just going into an abc store looking and talking to the employees mainly looking for some that has a smokey flavor and getting it.

[@DonnerPassWhisky]

If anyone has #1 still send Eric a sample so he can review all three side by side

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

I’ll have to look in my sample stash and see if I kept one. Could be a fun live show!

[@meesterfrench583]

Cannot wait to get my hands on these. Cheers!

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

You’ll enjoy !

[@Hughjanus666]

Very informative comparison. I enjoy this distillery 🎉

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

Cheers!

[@Longenecker1776]

I’m gonna score this Highland Park Cask Strength #3 right up there with Glen Scotia 15. Here in Ohio, the Glen Scotia costs about 90 dollars while this Highland park costs 100. Both are currently my favorite Scotch Whiskies although I agree they could lower the price about 20 dollars. Great review!

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

Cheers! Both great whiskies for sure. The GS 15 was my whisky of the year a few years back. Enjoy those!!

[@WhiskyNeighbour]

Thank you for sharing. I had this in my hand and put it back. I might need to go find it. It's costly, but sounded good!

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

I’m liking what’s I’m seeing from these releases as they seem to be getting better!

[@sentryogmixmaster]

#3 is great. my only drawback is that such a high abv kinda burns my tongue and tastebuds a bit....but overall it has a great taste that develops and lingers for a great sipper.

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

I def need a little water on it

[@utoobia]

It will take a LOT of water and hold up. Sipping this neat is not anywhere near the sweet spot for me.

[@danandrews8102]

Batch 3 has been the best yet. Did you manage to get hold of some batch 1?

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

I did get a chance to have it shortly after it came out. I wasn’t all that impressed and totally agree batch 3 is the best to date

[@zaphodbeeblebrox9109]

Hey. No.2 is natural colour and they do say on the box. Its supposedly circa 13 years old. Also the american oak in this is sherry seasoned predominantly.

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

Good catch! I assumed it was natural but didn’t see anything on the bottle. I’ll have to read all that writing on the box more closely!

[@zaphodbeeblebrox9109]

@@MaltMuserWhisky yeh there is A LOT of writing on this particular release, i think its hidden within some long paragraph if i remember right. Great channel btw

[@shuboy05]

I believe American sherry producers use American oak barrels for aging but don’t quote me on that. I’m just guessing since it would be cheaper for them to use American oak. I also remember seeing a video on the Highland Park 15 that mentioned the use of ex-sherry American oak casks for maturation. The American oak brings out more citrus notes.

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

Very interesting. That would make sense! I’ll see if I can find some more info on that.

[@mcw2553]

.. there is no such thing as American sherry producers as sherry can only be produced in Jerez, Spain. Second: sherry barrels used in the whisky industry are not the ones the bodegas use to age their sherry, they are generally virgin oak barrels that are "infused" with a sherry syrup for a few months/years depending on the distillery and are tailor made for the whisky industry. Lastly: bodegas over the last decade(s) started using American oak to produce those barrels because it's cheaper, softer and easier to work with than European oak.

[@shuboy05]

@@mcw2553 They are uncommon but some California winemakers like E&J Gallo have produced fortified wines that were labeled sherry. I'm not sure how legal that would be if sherry is a protected term like Champagne.

[@mcw2553]

@@shuboy05 That's interesting - I'm not sure if it's an EU protection or worldwide, because don't they sell "French champagne" in the US and call other sparkling wines champagne as well?

[@shuboy05]

@@mcw2553 Good question. Korbel sells "California Champagne" just like Gallo makes "California Sherry". This makes me wonder if adding the geographic location like California is their way of avoiding legal matters. Labeling rules are weird though I'm sure a lawyer somewhere can explain it to me.

[@WhiskeyQuests]

I’ve never had a HP whisky. The 12 year would be the obvious choice to start with but now I’m thinking I should skip it and go straight for this CS No. 3 release. Cheers 🤙🥃

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

The 12 is classic but this CS 3 is a good choice too. We should swap samples sometime! If you’re game shoot me a quick email at malt dot Muser at gmail dot com and we can figure something out. Happy to get you a sample of the HP CS 3.

[@zaphodbeeblebrox9109]

Skip the 12, it isnt the same whisky it was 5-10 years ago and a shadow of what it was 15-20 years ago. Get hold of cask strength batch 2 if you can and play around with different amounts of water.

[@Jeremy-sf2xf]

You seem to reply so I'm going to ask you. I am just really getting into drinking as a way to enjoy taste and all that. It used to be just give me a beer or dirty gin martini. But as I've been getting into whiskey mainly Scotch I guess I have been trying to get opinions and information on it If something is cask/barrel strength it means it is strength from the barrel. Do you believe it could have anything added to it at all even coloring has anything may lower the strength? I realize that may sound like a smart-ass question but it is not at all it is really me just asking for an opinion. I am a dumbass and can think of a better way of wording it. 😂

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

Good question. I think most of the time it's a safe bet when you buy cask strength that it will be natural color, but, there is nothing legally enforcing that, and when distillers do not fully disclose, you can never be totally sure.

[@jasoncoates1835]

Perfectly fair question. I think the volume of E150A required to color up a cask is low enough that it wouldn't make a material difference in the strength of the whisky. Further, I'm not sure how it works with Scotch or with the term "Cask Strength," but in the US the TTB has issued a ruling that the term "Barrel Proof" can only be used on a label if the contents are no more than 2 degrees proof lower than when they came from the cask, or in more specific terms, when the undiluted spirits were gauged for tax determination. This would give more than enough room for the effects of adding colorant, in theory. Again, no idea if that applies to the term "Cask Strength" as that was not specifically in the TTB ruling I read, and no idea if the SWA has similar guidelines.

[@Jeremy-sf2xf]

@@jasoncoates1835 yea you are probably 100. I did find later on that this is not colored. I just don't know how strict stuff is and it's probably pretty strict

[@Jeremy-sf2xf]

@@jasoncoates1835 I found a no.1 today and as I do I like to watch reviews as I am enjoying it and I found this. He slightly explains it kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmSXo42sqtGbqtk

[@jimmyjonesthegoodrev2287]

Cask Strength!

[@MaltMuserWhisky]

👍