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.

A Highland Park 21 year old distilled in 1959 and bottled in 1980. These bottlings released primarily in the 1970s and imported to Italy by Ferraretto are some of the most sought-after versions of Highland Park. Around a dozen exist, most of which are vintage bottlings aged between 17 and 21 years, with the exception of a 27 year old created for Fortnum & Mason in the UK and a 12 year old for the German market.