Scotland, Isle of Orkney. Distillery operational. Owner: The Edrington Group Ltd

Owned by the Edrington Group, Highland Park remained for a long time somewhat of a niche malt reserved for connoisseurs and well-informed enthusiasts, notably due to its kinship with Macallan. The distillery drew its quintessence from this relationship and the access it afforded to perfect mastery of sherry cask ageing and beautifully sculpted casks. The rest comes from the island's natural, cultural and geographic heritage. Established in 1798 on Orkney, a wind- and wave-swept island where Viking blood continues to run through the veins of its inhabitants, Highland Park produces a traditional malt, characterized by its lightly peated barley which is malted on site. Although the bottle shape evolved at the turn of the 1980s, the style remained the same until the late 1990s. Playing on a profound sherry register in which subtle notes of iodine and peat smoke highlight its almost mystical Celtic temperament, Highland Park has today come completely out of the shadows. It is one of the most legitimate distilleries in the collectibles world due to its history, the consistent quality of its malt and the breadth of the range.

An Orkney single malt distilled in 1959 and bottled in 1979 by James Grant & Co (Highland Distillers, Edrington Group) for the Italian market, imported by G.F. Ferraretto. Heavily influenced by sherry cask maturation.This version was the subject of a range featuring different ages and vintages, from 12 to 27 year olds and the years 1960, 1959, 1958 and 1956. It was primarily found in the 1970s alongside another range available in a classic-format bottle (clear and tall). It was permanently discontinued at the start of the 1980s and replaced by the small clear, stocky bottle popular among fans of sherry-cask malts up until the early 2000s. Bottle equipped with a cork stopper, two-tone metal foil seal and Italian tax strip.