This beautifully aged whisky opens with aromas of ripe orchard pears, bittersweet grapefruit, delicate geranium and sweet violet, wrapped in a cloud of delicate peat smoke. Enticing notes of pink grapefruit and sweet mandarin orange follow, elegantly balanced by creamy vanilla, crushed coconut and a suggestion of warm nutmeg. Intensely fruity at the finish, hints of freshly-cut wood and heathery peat smoke linger. 

To create our Vintage Series, Gordon Motion, our Master Whisky Maker, personally selects a small quantity of casks that display outstanding character and flavour. By expertly marrying these casks together, he creates a single vintage release that exemplifies the unique and complex balance of flavours that is Highland Park’s trademark. 

For our Vintage 1990 Release, Gordon tipped 34 ex-bourbon casks, originally laid down in 1990, into first-fill sherry seasoned European and American oak hogsheads and refill hogsheads. After a further period of maturation, allowing the whisky to develop the distinctive colour and character driven by each different cask type, Gordon selected five exceptional casks – three European and one American oak hogshead, and one refill hogshead – marrying them together in August 2023 and allowing the whisky time to harmonise before bottling. 

We’ve been crafting our award-winning whisky at the Highland Park Distillery in Kirkwall, Orkney, since 1798. Age, experience and respect for tradition may define our whisky, but it’s Orkney that sets it apart.