Highland Park Valfather Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

"...a rather young Islay whisky from Orkney. Actually, I think it's very good." - whiskyfun.com

Closing its Viking Legend series of three whiskies is 'Valfather'. Claiming to be the distillery’s peatiest whisky to date, it was matured in refill casks and bottled at 47% Alc./Vol. Named after Odin (the most powerful of the Norse gods), expect aromas of "crisp apple with sweet fragrant pear" and notes of "creamy vanilla crème brûlée with toasted cedar wood and warming paprika".

Other reviews... Highland Park suggests this is its peatiest whisky to date. Smoky roasted malt noteson the nose, with singed wood and a slowly developing floral note. Initially, sweeterthan expected on the palate, with vanilla and apricots, then dark peat, licorice, andtreacle toffee notes appear. Black tea and black pepper in the finish, along with a hint of pineapple. 87 points - whiskyadvocate.com

...According to the design, this humble NAS would be a half-Viking, half-Zulu bottling. They say it's the peatiest style of Highland Park, let's check that. You'll find it one all over the place, they must have produced hundreds of thousands bottles of this. Colour: light gold. Nose: this would confirm my findings (you're not Dr Livingstone either, S.), they've cranked up the peat. So this has rather a lot of peat, also kelp and vanilla. Now it's not particularly complex, I suppose the mix is young on average. A little vanilla, herbs, ashes… Mouth: it's having a hard time after the BB&R as it's much simpler, narrower, and just rather peaty. Now I still like it, it's a bright make, with good citrus beyond the coastal peat. It's just that it's pretty simple, I'm reminded of Laphroaig's rather underwhelming… What's the name again? Ah yes, Select. Oh boy. Finish: medium, creamy, peaty as an Islay. Comments: a rather young Islay whisky from Orkney. Actually, I think it's very good, hope they'll issue some older batches if they have any. Now and again, I find the fact that any distillery would produce many styles (like unpeated, lightly peated, medium peated, heavily peated, not to mention all kinds of woods) a little boring and valueless. Call me old-guard if you wish. 85 points - whiskyfun.com