Home Tasting: New Release: Highland Park 2000-2015 15 Year Old Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection for The Whisky Hoop #800266

Great CP, bought a lot of it. Highland Park HIGHLAND PARK 2000-2015 15yo SIGNATORY VINTAGE CASK STRENGTH COLLECTION for THE WHISKY HOOP #800266 57.1% One of 196 bottles, Bourbon Barrel ・Aroma: Bold and unrestrained aroma with vanilla and coconut, rich honey and orange marmalade with a touch of cream, strong wafer-like barley notes, rich nuts and oak, smoky with a solid peat. ・Flavor: Concentrated and viscous texture takes precedence over stimulation, gradually becoming spicy with orange marmalade, deep rich honey sweetness, tightening oak and faint tannins, savory barley notes, rich and solid peat. ・Aftertaste: Strong honey sweetness and peat. Long aftertaste with the savory barley flavor. ・Dilution: Even with generous dilution, it doesn't break down easily. ・Overall Evaluation: The complexity from long aging isn't extremely strong, but there's diversity with a powerful aroma and richness. Amidst that, the Highland Park house style of honey and smoky peat is clearly felt. The cask influence is effective without being overdone, and it's clearly well-finished considering the aging years. 【Good/Very Good】 This is Highland Park 2000, a 15-year-old bottling by Signatory for The Whisky Hoop. As it's a new release from 2000 distillation, there isn't much long aging character, but the cask influence is just right and the aroma feels diverse, showing a well-finished product. Also, the rich bourbon cask influence and Highland Park's signature honey & peat are both clearly felt. This release makes it clear that with a good cask, the finishing doesn't take much time. When I visited locally, I heard from multiple places that since this era, the casks have clearly improved overall and aging periods aren't as necessary anymore. This is a well-finished product that makes sense of those statements. #HighlandPark (HIGHLANDPARK)