Highland Park Freya (Valhalla Collection)

51.2%

15 yo

Ex-Bourbon casks

Freya was the 3rd release from the Valhalla Collection. It was named after the goddess Freyja, mostly associated with war, fertility, death and love. Interesting fact : most of us think that every Norse warrior that dies on the battlefield goes to Valhalla to join Odin, but Freyja actually gets half of the warriors !

This is a “limited” release of 19.000 bottles…

Color :  yellow chick.

Nose : notes of heather typical of HP, with a fairly pronounced presence of alcohol. We feel a slight beginning of exoticism, but nothing very frank. The nose is very atypical with a lots of fresh fruits.

Palate : still the characteristic peat of Highland Park. This time, the exotic notes express themselves frankly : honeydew melon, papaya, Chinese pears. A characteristic touch of Scotch aged in old Bourbon casks with a little honey is added. The flavours are very frank and very surgical. There is a strange feeling about this bottling.

Final : rather short on the palate and aggressive, with a pronounced aftertaste of peat that remains long. HP peat final usually doesn’t come very strong and fades quite quickly, but with the Freya there is more peat and it fades a bit slower.

Comments : it’s very … not Highland Park. Yet I like it. It adds a different touch to HP’s line-up. Some like it, some don’t so much. I really enjoyed this fine dram, especially since I paired it with a beer from my beloved Quebec…a beer also named Freya 🙂  Otherwise, the packaging is astonishing, as is the whole Valhalla collection.