SMWS Cask 4.252: An Orkney beekeeper’s Dram
My love of Orkney (read: Highland Park) is well-known. I never thought I’d like peat, then Highland Park came around. I never thought I’d like smoke - now I love it and sometimes crave the smoked meat and burnt ends. This special single barrel picked by the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society is exactly that - special. It takes all the uniquely Orkney power of a Highland Park, at cask strength no less, but doesn’t hide it behind a sherry aging or a sherry finishing. Don’t get me wrong, long-aged Highland Park in sherry casks are some of my all-time favorite whiskies. But that’s not what this is. Even with refill hogsheads and ex-bourbon casks, this is about the whisky, not the finishing.
This dram is the full measure of what Highland Park can be: there’s smoked honey, the kind you have to get at specialty farmers markets; there’s burnt ends slathered in smoky, meaty, briny sauce; there’s a heavy, unctuous malt character only discernible at these proofs. I have yet to find a Highland Park I don’t like, and nor have I found a SMWS bottling that went wrong. They know what they’re doing and I can’t wait for more!
SMWS Cask 4.252: An Orkney beekeeper’s Dram: Specs
Classification: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Origin: Orkney Distillery (Likely Highland Park)
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Proof: 122.6 (61.3% ABV)
Age: 12 Years Old, Aged in refill Hogsheads and ex-Bourbon Casks
Location: Orkney (Islands), Scotland
SMWS Cask 4.252: “Orkney beekeeper’s Dream” Price: N/A (Single Bottling Available only to Members)
SMWS Cask 4.252: An Orkney beekeeper’s Dram Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Very pale yellow. Zero rims, tiny droplets all over the glass.
Nose: Lightly smoked honey - sweet, rich, no hint of proof at all. Heather smoke and light floral notes.
Palate: Honey malt and drying oak hit first. Heat builds suddenly like a dam bursting at the tip of my tongue and flooding my whole mouth. Chocolate covered dried fruits, charcoal briquettes, and charred brisket ends. Mouthfeel is light yet rich at the same time. Incredibly coating for such a light initial palate, leaving chocolate and char everywhere.
Finish: Honey lingers in the background behind baker’s chocolate, dried cherries, and honey syrup. A smoky maple note at the very end.
Overall: The casks make themselves known, but this is a Highland Park show and boy is it a good one.
Final Rating: 8.4
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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