Highland Park 18 Review | Whiskey Raiders
Skip to main content
right-pointing

More to Enjoy

  • Tequila Raiders
  • Rum Raiders
  • Gin Raiders
Lead post image
93
Scotch

Highland Park 18

  • Distiller:

    Highland Park

  • Bottler:

    Highland Park

  • ABV:

    43%

  • Age:

    18 Years

  • Price:
    $$$$$
Buy
Aggregated Reviews
  • Raided Score: 94
  • Publication: Whisky Advocate
  • Excerpt: Superbly balanced on the velvety palate, with brittle toffee, stewed fruits, peat, honey, and a hint of coffee. Smoke and more toffee mingle in the long, elegant finish.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 95
  • Publication: WhiskyCast
  • Excerpt: The finish is smooth, soft, and very long. A rich and smooth classic!
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 85
  • Publication: whiskyfun
  • Excerpt: What happened to good old HP 18? It’s still a very good drop, but I think it’s lost its former polish. And maestria. And some younger expressions are way better, I think, which is good for our purses.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 99
  • Publication: Distiller
  • Excerpt: Velvety and indulgent, the whisky finishes on the dry side with mouthwatering acidity.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 96
  • Publication: Drinkhacker
  • Excerpt: My favorite of all the Highland Park bottles, and a veritable bargain compared to many other brands.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 92
  • Publication: Wine Enthusiast
  • Excerpt: The flavor grows more interesting with repeated sips—piquant peaty notes are joined by deep, complex toffee.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 90
  • Publication: Whiskey Raiders
  • Excerpt: Medium and smokier than the palate. Its not hot and the cream and fruits reappear to gently guide it out to sea.
  • Read Full Review

Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

House Review
  • Intro:

    This is an 18 year old release from Highland Park.

  • Nose:

    Sweet cream and brown sugar with a good dash of grapes and some darker fruit like date fruit. Theres a faint hint of smoke that lingers and blends quite nicely.

  • Taste:

    Sweet cream and custard. Disappointingly thin mouth feel but its easygoing due to the proof. Lots more grape here with a bit of strawberry jam. The smoke really charges in though and makes a strong showing. Not in a Ardbeg/Laphroaig/Laga kind of way, but a simple campfire and ash smoke that just is. It doesn't dominate or cover up and of the sweets and fruits. I quite like how well it balances and I think this is a strong showing on Highland Parks part - its complex and all of the players are in it for the team. Nothing is clobbering another flavor to be the top dog.

  • Finish:

    Medium and smokier than the palate. Its not hot and the cream and fruits reappear to gently guide it out to sea.

  • Overall:

    I like it a good deal. It might have broached closer to an 8 for me if the mouth feel wasn't so thin and the proof was a bit higher, but with all of that in stride - I'd take another glass again. I haven't tried the 15 before, nor any of the special or LE offerings but the 18 has really focused my opinion back on Highland Park.

  • Score:

    7

  • By t8ke
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
User Reviews
Read our privacy policy