8.6 (2)
Brand
Highland Park
Age
12 years old
Expression
Orkneyinga Legacy
Whisky type
Single Malt
Distillery
Highland Park Distillery
Origin
Island, Scotland
Year launched/bottled
2018
Limited edition
5,000 bottles
ABV.
46.00%
Source
Maxxium
In collection
29×

Review by Highland Park

Tasting note

Sweet heather honey, rich fruitcake, warm winter spices and orange zest, all wrapped up in our hallmark aromatic peat smoke.

Note

This limited edition is based on our award-winning and iconic 12 Year Old VIKING HONOUR but bottled at marrying strength of 46% ABV, which intensifies the whiskys notes of sweet heather honey, rich fruitcake, warm winter spices and orange zest, all wrapped up in our hallmark aromatic peat smoke.

This special whisky has been created to help raise funds for the refurbishment of The Orkneyinga Saga Centre which supports Orkneys historic monuments in Orphir and brings Orkneys early history vividly to life for visitors. Look out for more details on our website and in the local Orkney press.

The Orkneyinga Saga also known as The History of the Earls of Orkney is an important medieval chronicle, relating the story of the Norse conquest of our islands and the lives of the first Earls who ruled us, from Ragnvald and Sigurd the Mighty to Harald the Young. Fascinating and bloodthirsty in equal measures, its the only Norse saga in which Orkney takes centre stage.

The Orkneyinga Saga Centre is situated in the parish of Orphir an important centre of power during that early period of Norse rule and its home to two intriguing Viking-era remains: the drinking hall at Earls Bu and Orphir Round Kirk.

Built in the 12th century, Earls Bu was the great manor house of the Earls of Orkney. Its drinking hall for feasting and celebration was the site of the brutal murder, on Christmas Day 1135, of Svein Breast-Rope by Svein Asleifason. According to The Orkneyinga Saga, the murder followed a night of drunken revelry, interspersed by visits to the nearby church.

Thought to have been built by Earl Haakon in the late 11th or early 12th century, as penance for his terrible murder of his cousin Earl Magnus Erlendsson (later St Magnus), the churchs circular design was inspired by the Earl Haakons pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was dedicated to St Nicholas. Today, its remains are a physical documentation of Scotlands only surviving circular medieval church.

Source: Maxxium