Highland Park The Dark 17 Year 750ML

Highland Park The Dark 17 Year 750ML is a limited-edition single malt Scotch whisky from Orkney, bottled at 52.9% ABV (105.8 proof) in a 750ml format. This 17-year-old expression earned a Double Gold Medal and Best Distillers' Single Malt Scotch 13–19 Years at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, along with a 92-point rating from Whisky Advocate.

Quick Facts: ABV: 52.9%  |  Origin: Orkney Islands, Scotland  |  Age: 17 Years  |  Distillery: Highland Park, Kirkwall

Production & Heritage

Highland Park Distillery, founded in 1798 in Kirkwall on Orkney's mainland, remains one of the few Scottish distilleries that continues to hand-turn, malt, and peat its own barley on traditional malting floors. The Dark is matured exclusively in European oak sherry-seasoned casks — a deliberate choice that steers the spirit toward deep, dried-fruit richness and chocolatey weight. It is non-chill filtered and presented at natural color, with only 28,000 bottles produced worldwide. The 100% malted barley mash and Highland Park's signature aromatic Orkney peat combine with the full-sherry maturation to create a profile markedly darker and more intense than the distillery's core range expressions.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: The nose opens with Christmas spices, fruitcake, and raw dough before developing into milk chocolate, roasted nuts, and fresh-cut pine. Beneath those layers sits a gentle peat smoke threaded with nutmeg and cocoa.

Taste: The entry is immediate and full-bodied — rancio from the sherry wood delivers stewed prunes and dark raisins. The mid-palate shifts toward ground coffee bean, almonds, and oatmeal, while an herbal smokiness weaves through the entire progression. At cask strength, the 52.9% ABV provides significant texture without excessive heat.

Finish: Long and layered, closing on mint chocolate ice cream, prunes, almonds, and a damp forest-floor earthiness. The sherry influence and peat linger in tandem, neither dominating the other.

How to Drink The Dark 17

Neat is the definitive serve here — the cask-strength bottling rewards patience as it opens up in the glass over ten to fifteen minutes. A few drops of water will soften the ABV and amplify the chocolate and dried-fruit character. For cocktail applications: a Rob Roy benefits from the sherry-forward sweetness and smoke; a Blood and Sand gains extra depth from The Dark's dried-fruit and cocoa notes; and a Penicillin works particularly well, with the Orkney peat smoke standing in powerfully for a more traditional Islay component.

Best For

• Gifting a whisky enthusiast who values limited-edition, cask-strength releases
• Adding a collectible bottle to a single malt library — only 28,000 produced
• Hosting a sherry-cask whisky tasting alongside lighter expressions for contrast
• Celebrating a milestone occasion with a spirit that rewards slow, contemplative sipping

Frequently Asked Questions

What does The Dark 17 taste like? The Dark 17 leads with dark dried fruit — prunes, raisins, and fruitcake — layered over ground coffee, roasted almonds, and cocoa, all carried by a subtle Orkney peat smoke that emerges on the finish.

How does The Dark 17 compare to Macallan 18 Sherry Cask? Both are fully sherry-matured single malts, but The Dark 17 carries a distinctive layer of Orkney peat smoke that is entirely absent from Macallan 18, and it is bottled at a higher cask strength of 52.9% ABV versus Macallan's standard 43%. The smoke and higher proof give The Dark 17 a more layered, robust character that many reviewers consider more complex.

Is The Dark 17 good for sipping neat? Yes — the non-chill-filtered, cask-strength profile was designed for neat drinking, and a few drops of water will open up additional dried-fruit and chocolate notes without diminishing the finish.

Where is The Dark 17 made? Highland Park The Dark 17 is produced at Highland Park Distillery in Kirkwall, on the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland. Orkney is one of Scotland's most remote whisky-producing regions, and the distillery has operated on the same site since 1798.

What foods pair well with The Dark 17? Dark chocolate truffles amplify the cocoa notes; aged Manchego cheese mirrors the nuttiness; venison with a berry reduction complements the dried-fruit and smoke; a traditional Scottish Dundee cake echoes the fruitcake character on the nose; and blue cheese intensifies the sherry-wood richness.

What sizes does The Dark 17 come in? Highland Park The Dark 17 is available in the standard 750ml bottle format.

Is The Dark 17 worth the price? The Dark 17 positions as a premium limited-edition single malt — its cask-strength bottling, 17-year age statement, exclusive sherry-cask maturation, and production run of only 28,000 bottles place it above Highland Park's core range and into collector territory, supported by a 92-point Whisky Advocate score and Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Why The Dark 17?

Among Highland Park's special releases, The Dark 17 represents the distillery's most committed exploration of full European oak sherry-cask maturation — no bourbon casks, no refill wood, and no compromises. The result earned both a Double Gold Medal at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a 92-point score from Whisky Advocate, placing it among the most acclaimed expressions in the 13–19-year category. With only 28,000 bottles released worldwide and Highland Park's distinctive hand-peated malt providing a smoky counterpoint to the dense sherry influence, The Dark 17 occupies a space few whiskies can claim: genuinely dark, genuinely complex, and genuinely limited.