Highland Park 14 Years Loyalty of the Wolf Review

I picked up this travel retail (duty-free) Highland Park 14 Years Loyalty of the Wolf on my last trip to London. Usually, I skip the TR exclusive offerings because they’re overpriced crap. It’s a segment of the whiskey world that preys off of manufactured exclusivity and people in a good mood looking to spend some money. Outside of the fantastic Laphroaig Brodir, I can’t remember a single TR bottle I’ve truly enjoyed.

Highland Park 14 Years Loyalty of the Wolf

But I like Highland Park, I like it a lot. So maybe they’ll be the one to break that tradition again and bring us something awesome. I mean this whisky did win a gold medal in the travel retail category of some whiskey awards show, and we all know what a gold medal means. Let’s dig into this scotch review and see just how golden this medal-adorned whisky is.

Highland Park 14 Years Loyalty of the WolfReview: Details and Tasting Notes

In Highland Park’s Words:

Both wolf and Viking share the strong instinct to protect and defend family and territory, responding boldly and courageously when faced with threat or danger. Our island home on Orkney was under Viking rule for over 600 years and we are proud of the characteristics we share with our ancestors. With 14 YEAR OLD LOYALTY OF THE WOLF we celebrate determination, co-operation and courage in a single malt whisky that is both sweet and complex, displaying a fine balance of contrasts, just like the Vikings – and the wolves – themselves.

Highland Park 14 Years Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)

Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)

Region: Highland, Scotland

Distiller: Highland Park
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon, ex-Bourbon seasoned with sherry
Age: 14 yeas
ABV: 42.3%

Natural Color

Price: $75

Tasting Notes

EYE
Light honey

NOSE
Orchard fruit, graham, clay minerality, smoke, chalk, malty sweetness, vanilla saltwater taffy and a touch of dried strawberry.

PALATE
Buttery toffee, orchard fruit (green apple heavy), smoke, herbal, cumin, honey, toasted grain and Grape Nuts with an oily spirity raw essence.

FINISH
Medium -> Fruity and darkly sweet and smoky.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Not fully balanced, medium body and a soft easy feel.

the aroma is nice, but the palate lacks the ability to make me want more. A big ol swing and a miss for HP.

Highland Park 14 Years Loyalty of the Wolf Review: Overall and Score

Definitely not liking this. The Aroma is decent and carries a nice smoky fruity sweetness that’s far from complex but is at least pleasant; Palate is odd, not cohesive and tastes young and overly spirity to be a 14 yo; Finish is my favorite part, drawing the best notes out and holding them just long enough to enjoy.

Overall though I feel rather… meh. It’s not complex or interesting and has so much raw spirit floating through – seems to be the bad-average portion of the new make and the bad-average of the casks have all been combined in this Scotch. Is it drinkable? Yeah… kinda. Is it enjoyable? No… not really. Another check in the “travel retail exclusives are overpriced crap” category.

SCORE: 2.5/5

Highland Park 14 Years Loyalty of the Wolf Review