CBTD No.14 is a rebottling of a whisky distilled at Highland Park in 1989, matured exclusively in a sherry cask and bottled as part of the First Cask series at 18 years old.

This 1989 Highland Park First Cask single malt was distilled in a year which saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government introduce the unpopular Poll Tax amid widespread protests, and the first release of the bestselling Nintendo Gameboy.

The History of Highland Park

Highland Park distillery is the northernmost distillery in Scotland. It is located in Kirkwall the largest town in the Orkney Isles. The origins of distilling at Highland Park are mysterious; the distillery was founded in 1798 either by Magnus Eunson a priest turned smuggler who allegedly concealed illegal whisky in his pulpit, or by farmer David Robertson who may have established the first stills at a previously illicit site. Whoever first distilled whisky there, in 1826 Highland Park became one of the first distilleries to be officially licenced when ownership passed to the Borwick family. James Grant then purchased the distillery in 1895 and proceeded to double its capacity by installing two more stills.

The distillery was acquired by Highland Distilleries in 1937 and used exclusively for blends until the 1970s. It was under the ownership of Highland Distilleries that the Highland Park brand was first launched in 1979; an 8-Year-Old single malt.

In 1999, the Highland Park distillery became part of the Edrington Group and since then the brand has continually developed. First with the decision in 2004 for exclusively 100 percent ex-sherry casks to be used for maturation, and secondly the creation of a core range of age-statement Highland Park expressions alongside a series of themed releases based around Orcadian history and Norse gods.

Highland Park is renowned for its aromatic peaty character, a result of the Orcadian peat used in the malting process. Peat is comprised from semi-decomposed vegetation laid down over thousands of years, and when burnt releases the smoky aromas generated by this vegetation. The peat from the Scottish mainland is smokier due to the lignin from trees, while Islay peat is influenced by maritime vegetation. In contrast, Orcadian peat is derived from heather and moss resulting in a lightly smoky and fragrant heathery aroma. Highland Park’s kiln process produces a heavily smoky malt grain which accounts for 20 percent of the distillery’s requirements, with the remaining unpeated grain imported from the mainland. This gives Highland Park’s malt whisky output a lightly smoky, fragrant and fruity character.

Cheaper By The Dram NO.14

The whisky in CBTD NO.14 was distilled in 1989 at the Highland Park highland Park distillery. Direct Wines bottled it as an exclusive single sherry butt bottling at 18 years old and it was released as part of the First Cask range.