The 54 Year Old Single Malt Whisky is Highland Park's oldest and rarest release

The Orkney Islands, located at the northernmost tip of Scotland, is a unique archipelago defined by wild beauty and a Viking history dating back to the 8th century. Here, heather peat blankets moorland, the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean crash onto rugged cliffs, and salt-laden sea winds sweep through the cluster of 70 islands of which only 20 are inhabited. Orkney has only two distilleries, one of which is Highland Park and it has been producing award-winning elixirs since 1798.

For over 220 years, the distillery, one of the oldest working ones in Scotland, has smoked their local barley by hand over 4,000-year-old peat hand-cut from the nearby Hobbister Moor. The lashing winds may have led to treeless terrains in the remote islands but it has given rise to heather-rich peat that burns slowly in Highland Park’s ancient kilns to create a complex floral aroma that is infused into the malting barley. The whisky is then matured in sherry seasoned oak casks, a process that is aided by a temperate climate of mild winters and summers. The result? Incredibly characterful whiskies that are intensely balanced with a smoky sweetness and laden with a harmony of myriad flavours. Bottles like the 15 Year Old Viking Heart, 25 Year Old and 30 Year Old make perfect pairings with dishes from seafood to grilled meats and chocolate desserts. The 18 Year Old Viking Pride is particularly smooth and sophisticated, living up to its accolades of “Best Spirit in the World” by the Spirit Journal and a Gold and Ultimate Recommendation (with a score of 96) in the 2021 International Spirits Challenge.

This year, Highland Park celebrates its 225th anniversary with the release of its oldest and rarest single malt to date — the 54 Year Old. There are only 225 bottles available worldwide with six reserved for the Singapore market.

Its genesis was in February 2008, when Highland Park’s master whisky maker Gordon Motion selected 10 refill casks that were originally laid down four decades earlier in 1968. He saw potential in the beautiful light-coloured spirit marked by an ethereal fragrance and tipped them into first-fill European sherry butts to continue its maturation for another 14 years until it reached his desired flavour and character.

The Highland Park 54 Year Old is intensely sweet, rich and complex, carrying a deep autumnal russet colour. There are aromas of exotic lychee, aromatic camphor, vintage oak and delicate peat on the nose. On the palate are warm spices of crushed cumin, coriander seeds, summer rose and jasmine, with hints of honeyed kiwi fruit and pistachio biscotti. The finish is sweet and spicy, as woody notes give way to lingering whiffs of sweet fenugreek and heathery peat smoke. Motion said: “This exceptionally rare 54-year-old single malt Scotch Whisky has been nurtured through careful maturation and harmonisation. Representing a quarter of Highland Park’s life, we felt it was a fitting way to mark our 225th anniversary, born and crafted in the heart of Orkney.”

Fine spirits connoisseurs, who appreciate tradition and craftsmanship, will find the 54 Year Old to be a truly bespoke collectible. The whisky’s decanter is designed by Michael Rudak from UK’s leading glass manufacturer Stoelzle Flaconnage. Rudak stretched material and process to the limit in the production of the embossed glass bottle to create stunning design details. The conical “push” at the base of the decanter references the distillery’s mash tuns in which the raw materials are churned and combined, while the textural surface is inspired by the old red sandstone at Orkney’s Yesnaby Cliffs and the concept of molten lava erupting from the seabed to form the remote islands.

Glasgow-based wood craftsman John Galvin, a long-time collaborator who has created many bespoke presentation boxes and cabinets for Highland Park’s oldest whiskies, designed the accompanying winged box as a nod to Orkney’s Yesnaby Cliffs. Each box is hand-blasted from the finest Scottish oak wood, with colour variations that render each piece unique. Galvin shared: “As you open it up, the doors are like wings — it looks like a bird — and you see Michael’s beautiful glass inside and understand that these natural materials and the craftsmanship are working in complete harmony.”

At the exclusive launch of the 54 Year Old at one Michelin-starred Burnt Ends, Highland Park’s Senior Brand Ambassador Martin Markvardsen Soren, who has been with the brand for 17 years, recommended the following way of appreciating the 46.9 per cent ABV spirit (or any Highland Park whisky for that matter): Nose it, take a slow sip and leave it all around your mouth for several seconds to appreciate the body of flavours. He said: “It’s a whisky where you get a lot of history and flavours coming out. It tells the story of Orkney.”

The Highland Park 54 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky retails at S$71,500 (including GST). Find out more at www.highlandparkwhisky.com