Review #960 - Highland Park Cask Strength Release No. 2

While we love some of the Highland Park official bottlings - the 12 Year, for instance, has great depth for its specifications, and presents good value - most of those OBs are bottled at a relatively low strength. When we've tried cask strength Highland Park whiskies bottled by independents, they've often been some of our very favorite whiskies. Finally, we get to see that high-strength potential in some official Highland Parks: the Cask Strength series.

Here we have Release No. 2 of Highland Park Cask Strength, which boasts an eye-watering strength of 63.9% ABV. Considering that's a higher strength than most single malt Scotch whiskies are filled at originally when entering the cask (typically 63.5% ABV), this was probably filled at a higher strength originally, potentially closer to 70% ABV.

The casks used for this release are a combination of both American oak and European oak which have been sherry-seasoned, along with a small amount ex-bourbon casks to round out the profile. Highland Park don't give us specific proportions, but they do say the emphasis is firmly on the sherried side of things.

Highland Park Cask Strength Release No. 2

Scotland/Highland - Single Malt

Price: USD 90 (2026)

Age Statement: NAS

Strength: 63.9% ABV

Cask Makeup: European oak and American oak sherry casks, ex-bourbon casks

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; release no. 2, bottled 2021

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 1 month; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Dark and fruity with strong sherry notes - musty, dates, strawberries, and a dark orange scent. There is a soft peat note in there, but it doesn't stand out; the strength does stand out though, bringing plenty of heat. Heather and other floral notes build with time, and we also get apples, cinnamon, malt, and a bit of straw.

Palate: The mouthfeel is thick and chewy, and this is very punchy - a hot whisky. A little bit spirity, but we also get oak spice, dried fruits of raisin and plum, and some cinnamon spice. More fruits of fig, sugary strawberry jam, and blackberry arrive; there's a nice combination of sweetness and acidity to that fruit. Effervescent malt, tangy peat, and caramel are accents.

Finish: That soft heathery peat from the nose returns, and the spirity heat from the palate continues to kick. Wood tannins, a hint of nuttiness, and caramel combine with raisins, dates, and red berries. It grows sweeter over time, and the finish is medium-long.

Final Note: This isn't the most complex whisky, but it brings tons of flavor and texture to compensate. That heat does definitely show across all parts of the tasting, but despite how spirity this is, it never tasted particularly young. We think the heavy sherry cask influence probably plays a big part in that - it's definitely a sherry bomb, with dominant dark fruit flavors.

The peat side of this whisky seemed quite restrained; peat is generally a light influence in Highland Park whiskies, but there were a couple of tastings with this bottle where we detected essentially no peat (though it could have been hidden by the spirit heat). On the flip side, we did find that the European oak made a nice contribution to the spirit, adding plenty of spice.

When we get to value, we think this is a good bottle. The price generally seems to float around $80 to $90, and we were actually able to pick up this bottle at auction for only about half of that; at that sort of price, it's a steal.

Our Rating: 7.3 / 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: 7.03

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.