21 Year Old

We release our 21 Year Old in small batches. Each batch shares the same underlying characteristics but also reveals different flavours coming to the fore, reflecting the influence of the casks chosen by Gordon Motion, our Master Whisky Maker.

As ever, our Senior Brand Ambassador, Martin Markvardsen is on hand with some fabulous food pairing ideas – try individually or all together for an unforgettable feast! Martin’s ideal main course, accompanied by a dram of 21 Year Old, is a grilled T-bone steak served with creamed spinach and sauté potatoes. To amplify the sweeter, fruity notes of 21 Year Old, petit fours concocted from milk chocolate with dried raspberries, blackberries and strawberries are the perfect accompaniment while a selection of French cheeses with fruit compote and crackers will hit a savoury note with sweet undertones. A word of caution, however, anything too salty can spoil the flavours of 21 Year Old.

For a splendid Fathers’ Day gift, choose from our most recent 2020 release or our two previous 2019 releases…

21 Year Old 2020 Release

A brilliant marriage of three distinctive cask types, all laid down in November 1998 – first-fill sherry seasoned European hogsheads, first-fill ex-bourbon hogsheads and refill hogsheads. Our 2020 Release is both spicy and complex with vibrant, deep russet hues driven entirely naturally by the casks. You’ll pick up initial aromas of sweet heather honey, lightly toasted oak and spicy root ginger, followed by intensely balanced notes of sun-ripened oranges, fresh vanilla pods and warm spices – all overlaid by hints of Orkney’s unique heather-rich peat. A long, complex and satisfyingly spicy finish lingers with a final whisper of aromatic peat smoke.

In 2021, our 2020 Release was awarded a Masters Medal in the Scotch Whisky Masters and a Gold Medal in the International Spirits Challenge.

BUY 21 YEAR OLD 2020 RELEASE

21 Year Old November 2019 Release

This exceptionally well-balanced whisky was created from similar quantities of first-fill European sherry seasoned oak hogsheads, ex-bourbon hogsheads and refill hogsheads, all laid down during 1998. Naturally golden in colour, it reveals notes of freshly-cut pineapple, ripe mango and light golden syrup, giving way to an exquisitely balanced harmony of juicy pears, sun-dried sultanas, vanilla pods and nutty toasted oak. Deliciously sweet and spicy, our unique aromatic peat smoke lingers on the palate.

The November edition was awarded an Ultimate Recommendation in the 2021 Ultimate Spirits Challenge and gold medals in both the International Spirits Challenge and the Scotch Whisky Masters in 2020.

DISCOVER 21 YEAR OLD NOVEMBER 2019 RELEASE

21 Year Old August 2019 Release

Created from just fifteen casks, this whisky delivers wave upon wave of beautifully harmonised flavours thanks to the selection of almost identical quantities of first-fill sherry seasoned American oak casks, first-fill sherry seasoned European oak casks, and refill casks. Delightful notes of freshly grated nutmeg, root ginger and sun-ripened orange zest are perfectly balanced by ripe mango, sweet pear and creamy vanilla.

The first 21 Year Old to be introduced to the Highland Park family in ten years, this superb whisky won the Chairman’s Trophy for Best Island Malt in the 2020 Ultimate Spirits Challenge and a gold medal in the Luxury Spirit Master of the same year.

BUY 21 YEAR OLD AUGUST 2019 RELEASE