My take on Highland Park 12 yo

The entry point into the world of single malt Scotch whisky for myself, as for countless others, was the Glenfiddich 12 yo. Once you got to know and appreciate this one, you soon want to go further and experience what else the world of malt has to offer. An often iterated recommendation to beginners like myself at this point, is to look out for the standard expression of Highland Park, the 12 year old.

There are numerous characteristics under which whiskies could be categorized. The most accessible scheme for me as novice, which I started to use in order to get my bearings, is as follows:

The basic flavor comes to me as fresh and fruity, with sweet vanilla notes from the toasted oak wood used for maturation, nicely embodied by the above mentioned Glenfiddich.
One of the main additional features often employed in the making of whisky is peat smoke. The smoke of burning peat was traditionally used in Scotland to dry the barley after malting, which imposed this characteristic flavor profile onto that malt, and ultimately into the final spirit. Today, it is no longer a necessity in the production process, but frequently used intentionally to achieve a flavor resembling that of traditional Scotch whiskies.
Another important feature is sherry influence, which comes from using casks for maturation which previously contained - surprise - sherry.
These three cornerstones set a kind of coordinate system, which of course is not able to map the entire malt universe (maltiverse?), but especially in the beginning, in my opinion, serves quite nicely to get some orientation.

The 12 year old Highland Park now has a bit of everything. Some peat smoke, some sherry, and thus is often regarded as the great allrounder. Others say, by trying to be everything, it falls short in every direction. So, naturally, I had to find out for myself. Here it goes:

Nose: Heavy sherry that smells of dark ripe fruit and old leather. After a while, I actually start to smell some chocolate!

Taste: A very soft arrival that starts with bitterness from the oak wood, and turns into cold bonfire smoke. Behind the smoke I can taste the distinctive sweet sherry aroma.

Finish: Medium length, the smoke lingers longest and quietly fades out.

Bottom line: On the nose the sherry dominates everything. On the palate, it's the smokiness. However, if you concentrate on the event you start to pick out different aromas and actually some development, which is a really interesting experience for someone new to the field. For my personal taste, though, the sherry is coming on too strong in this one.
 + affordable, easily accessible complexity
 - too much sherry, also the cold smoke is not for everyone

For beginners it is definitely an educational experience that brought me forward on my journey quite a lot. It will not rank among my favorites due to the excessive sherry, but if that is your thing, you might really enjoy this one.

Slàinte mhath!