Review #869 - Signatory Vintage Highland Park 'Secret Orkney' 15 Year

Often when it is bottled by independent bottlers, Highland Park will be labeled simply as 'Orkney' - we've seen this recently in our reviews of a Cadenhead's 6 Year 'Orkney' and a Single Malts of Scotland 12 Year 'Orkney' bottling. While there have historically been 2 distilleries in the Orkney islands, the other distillery, Scapa, rarely sells to independents; if there's any doubt about the provenance, the lightly peated, heathery character of the whisky in the bottle is generally another strong indicator towards Highland Park.

This bottling from Signatory Vintage, also labeled as a 'Secret Orkney,' is a Highland Park which was matured for 15 years in bourbon hogsheads. This isn't actually a single cask release, but instead the marriage of 2 bourbon casks, which bear the designation of 'DRU***' - this is actually another marker of this being Highland Park, as Signatory Vintage uses this labeling for casks obtained from the Edrington Group, owners of Highland Park.

Even after those 15 years of maturation, this single malt still sits at a lofty strength of 62.1% ABV; Signatory always gives us good presentation, too, with no chill filtration and no added color.

Signatory Vintage Highland Park 'Secret Orkney' 15 Year

Scotland/Highland - Single Malt

Price: USD 114 (2025)

Age Statement: 15 Years

Strength: 62.1% ABV

Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon hogsheads

Details: No chill filtered, no color added; cask nos. DRU17 A67 #91 and #98; distilled March 31, 2009; bottled November 21, 2024; 587 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 6 months; bottles at 100%, 80%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Mineral notes, spirity, a bit lactic or creamy - lemon-drizzled cheese Danish pastries. Apples and lemon-lime soda bring bright orchard fruit scents, and we also get honey, malt, and graham crackers. There's a bit of hay, green melon, and vanilla... just a hint of vegetal peat smoke, too. With time, it grows much more waxy.

Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thick, and this is quite warming and spirity. Drying, peppery oak combines with sweet pears, icing sugar, and some malty notes - it's both sweet and spicy. The peat smoke influence is still quite soft; notes of soda water, cream soda, vanilla, and peaches coated in brown sugar build.

Finish: Hay and heather, fizzy light green fruits like honeydew and limes, and a bit of sweet vanilla and soda. The peat turns into a charcoal note, and the waxy character from the nose returns. Hints of sea salt and dried grass build, and this finish is very long.

Final Note: This is just a classic example of ex-bourbon Highland-style single malt. The soft smokiness, which we almost couldn't detect at times, is a great accent to the combination of bright, sweet fruit and spicy oak. This is quite strong and bold with that high bottling strength, but we enjoyed how it's distillate-forward, and the casks don't cover up that Highland Park character.

Very good single malt, and a pretty fair price, as far as we're concerned. As they grew in popularity, a lot of IBs saw some price inflation, but Signatory Vintage still brings a lot of value to the table. Despite being price in excess of $100, we think the value for this bottle is very fair.

Our Rating: 7.5 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 6.19

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.