I bought my first bottle of Highland Park Whisky about 4 years ago when I began to my serious exploration of different whisky styles from other parts of the world besides Canada. Although I was familiar to some degree with blended Scotch and Single Malts, I was suspicious of this particular whisky as the back of the package clearly indicated “Aromatic Peat” which, to be honest, did not sound appealing at all. However, I was assured of the quality of this brand by the owner of the liquor store I had stopped at. He even gave me small sample to belay my fears.
Of course by now the Highland Park 12 Year Old is a mainstay of my liquor cabinet. When I have a guest over who is suspicious of peated whisky (like I was), I give them a little sample of this whisky first. On more than one occasion my guest has wandered over to the liquor store on his own a few days later and picked up his own bottle.
The Highland Park Distillery has a great website, and you should give it a read as it contains a plethora of information about not only their fine whisky but also the history and heritage of their unique locale in the Highlands of Scotland.
Here is an excerpt from my original review written over 2 years ago:
You may read the full review here:
Review: Highland Park 12-Year-Old Whisky
Cheers!
Schenley OFC is currently produced at the Lethbridge, Alberta Distillery by Schenley Distilleries (and possibly some is produced at the Valleyfield, Quebec Distillery as well). The Lethbridge Distillery is also referred to as the Black Velvet Distillery, as this is where Black Velvet Canadian Whisky is produced, and, as well, it is referred to as the Palliser Distillery, as it is also where brands such as Danfield’s Canadian Whisky (a Palliser Brand) is produced. To add to this confusing mix of brand owners which produce their spirits at this facility, the back of my last Smirnoff Vodka bottle (owned by Diageo) also indicated that this vodka was distilled at the Lethbridge Distillery. The distillery itself, seems to be owned by Buffalo Trace, who in turn are owned by Sazerac (or perhaps it is the other way around).
The practice of making whisky at the Old Bushmills Distillery can be traced back to 1608 when King James I granted Sir Thomas Phillips a royal licence to distill ‘uisce beatha’, the gaelic for ‘water of life’. This grant serves as the first documented evidence of the distillation of whiskey at the site although at that time it was not yet called Bushmills. The first known reference to the Old Bushmills Distillery was in 1743 when, according to Victorian whiskey journalist Alfred Barnard, the site was
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