Highland Park - Special Editions

[Blandy_UK]

Alright you malt maniacs....what are your thoughts on the latest Highland park 'Valhalla' range?

I picked up a bottle of 'Thor' last year, and a very pretty bottle it is. 16 years of age and weighs in at a solid 52.1%.

My initial thought was I'd by each bottle (4 bottles to be released, 1 per year) and then crack them open when special occasions hit - a decade from now)

Loki is now out, and it's mine for ?120 (the same price as Thor). However, bearing in mind it has the exact same frame, and a year younger - am I a fool to consider buying it? - or is age just a number? I'd like to buy it, i just don't want to be ripped off by pretty marketing.

+ I could nearly get a bottle of the 25 year old for that price!!!

[butternutsquashpie]

Age is always just a number. But the number means different things for different people. Example, if you're a Talisker fan, you're gonna like a younger Bruichladdich than an older one. Obviously if you had the choice, you'd pick the older one, but the price differences just makes the younger one "better."
Me, having my go-to malt as a Cragganmore, I like my bruichladdich to be older as it is a tad smoother on the nose (and therefore palate).

Then again, other ages mean different other things as well. For example, as the Dalmore increases in age, the citrus hints get a tad less and less. The 12 is as citrusy as a child's lemonade stand. The fifteen gets some maturity and you can taste the whiskey in it. And i've an odd cask 22 YO Dalmore here that is starting to have hints of peat along with the awesome Dalmore taste.

It all depends on the different malt itself. It's what makes scotch a tad complicated at times!


NOW to your actual question: is that worth it? My personal opinion, no. But that's just me. I don't like highland park as much because in Canada, we get taxed up the wazzoo for it. The highland parks here are just NOT worth it overall. Plus they don't impress me enough. Again, it's just my (moderately anti-highland malts) opinion!

[Sligub]

Personally as a fan of the Thor I will pick up a bottle of the loki but won't be saving it

P.s highland park is not a highland malt but an island.

[butternutsquashpie]

Personally as a fan of the Thor I will pick up a bottle of the loki but won't be saving it

P.s highland park is not a highland malt but an island.

OH GOD, that means they're peatier than my memory should serve me!!
Ah well, to each their own