Tasting Notes by Johan ('Uncut'); Highland Park 1986/2012, 54.1%, Malts of Scotland 'Amazing Casks', Bourbon Hogshead # MoS12053, 245 bottles
Very fresh, aromatic nose. A lot of 'outside air'. A walk through the heather, and even more through the meadow, with its tall grass and flowers. Buttercups, dandelions. Morning dew. Clay. Chalk. Wet stones (we now walk along a mountain stream). Aspirin. Honey? Mja, but rather vanilla. And fruit do you say? You can count on yes. Red, juicy apples (Jazz), peaches, lots of gooseberries and a bit of lychee juice. Smoke? That is also there, but far in the background. Beeswax, that certainly does. Hay too. And pine needles, along with a little bit of resin. Really a lot of 'outside' associations. Clean, and especially complex profile. Fresh, sweet, floral and fruity notes are beautifully interwoven. But give him time, he grows, evolves beautifully. Actually much more Clynelish than Highland Park. The taste does not go down in terms of cleanliness and complexity. First the floral character (hay, grass, flowers), followed by the sweet (honey, vanilla, nougat), than by the minerals, the fruit (peaches, pears, pineapple and grapefruit) and the beeswax. Underlying herbs (cinnamon, liquorice and pepper) but almost no oak. A bit of salt. Stinging mouthfeel. Long, tingling aftertaste, sweet, salty and spicy. The nose is pure Clynelish, the taste is slightly more Highland Park. Very complex, and indeed also special whisky . 91/100
http://onversneden.com/2012/11/19/highland-park-1986-mos-amazing-casks/