Remote, Wild And Windswept
Orkney proudly stands apart.
OUR VIKING HOMELAND
Unquestionably remote, our fiercely independent islands once sat at the crossroads between powerful Nordic and Scottish cultures and were ruled by the Viking Kings of Norway and Denmark.
AN ARCHIPELAGO OF ISLANDS, FLUNG IN THE COLD NORTH SEA
Scattered in windswept waters, 16km from the northernmost reaches of the Scottish mainland, where the North Sea rises up to meet the Atlantic Ocean, lie the seventy or so islands which make up Orkney. Only twenty are inhabited.
58.9847°N
Here in Kirkwall, on our ‘mainland’, Highland Park has been distilled since 1798 – on the same site as Magnus Eunson’s original illicit still at High Park. Our distillery lies almost in the Arctic Circle on a latitude of 58.9847°N, roughly the same as Anchorage, Alaska. And in fact we’re closer to Oslo in Norway than we are to London in the UK, but divided by mile upon stormy mile of water.
A CURIOUS GEOLOGY
Exposed to every element and pounded relentlessly by gale-force winds from every angle, no trees can survive in Orkney’s harsh conditions – and this curious geology lies at the heart of Highland Park’s distinctive flavour.
OUR UNIQUE HEATHERY PEAT
For over 220 years, we’ve smoked our barley over 4,000 year old peat cut from Hobbister Moor, just seven miles from our distillery. Completely woodless, this dense heathery peat burns slowly and with an astonishing intensity to create a complex floral aroma in our kilns that delivers the intensely balanced smoky sweetness found only in Highland Park.
DID YOU KNOW?
Orkney lies outside the five major whisky making regions of Scotland and has only two distilleries – Speyside has 50, the Highlands have 33 and even Islay, covering roughly the same number of square miles as Orkney, has eight.
DID YOU KNOW?
Our climate is surprisingly temperate with its lack of extremes (2°C in winter to 16°C in summer) perfect for a long, even-paced whisky maturation in our island warehouses.
Did you know?
From the heathery Fogg layer down through the dense, compacted Yarphie to the ancient coal-like Moss, the core of our peat dates back 4,000 years.
Our Distillery
Visit our distillery to meet the modern-day Viking descendants who make our whisky.
Our Viking Roots
The Vikings didn’t leave Orkney. They became part of it and part of us. Their story is our story.