Highland Park

The Cabinet met last night for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic in Canada. We met in the virus-free fresh air along the banks of the Assiniboine River, we sat spaced apart, and we refrained from speaking moistly. The meeting happily coincided with the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Manitoba Act, creating Manitoba as Canada's fifth province. The history of this is far more interesting than you might guess, but is also beyond the scope of a scotch whisky blog. Curious individuals can begin here: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/manitoba-act

The Manitoba Sesquicentennial does, however, provide the basis for a tasting theme. There is a strong connection between the Red River Colony which became Manitoba and the Orkney islands. The Hudson's Bay Company governed the territory before Canada's purchase of it in 1869, and 80% of its employees were from the Orkney's. Most of these men settled in the Red River Colony after their terms with the Company were completed and many married Cree and Ojibwa women, so they can rightly be counted among the founders of Manitoba. 

Happily, the Cabinet is very fond of Orkney whiskies, with the Highland Park 18 year old and the Highland Park Dark Origins being particular favourites. To this line-up we added the Magnus and the Valfather, both also from Highland Park. We have Scapa whiskies in our stocks as well, but it made it made sense to compare the Highland Parks side by side.

By the end of the evening our affection for the 18 y.o. and the Dark Origins were confirmed. The other two unfortunately fell short of that high mark. The Valfather is a solid whisky though, well enough crafted to be enjoyable, but just not Highland Park's best. The Magnus, on the other hand, was a disappointment. While broadly identifiable as a Highland Park, it is much thinner than any of their other offerings. There's a reason for this - it's 40% abv versus 47% for the Valfather. And therein lies a little sleight of hand. The Magnus sells for $50 here and the Valfather for $89. The extra water alone accounts for $8 of the price difference. Another element is the fact that it just comes as a naked bottle without a cylinder or even a box. Ultimately, as far as cheap whiskies go, it's a reasonable choice, but if you can afford $105 (all figures in Canadian dollars), the Dark Origins is by far the best value for money. If you can find it. It is no longer available in Manitoba. Given the history, there should be special allocations of Orkney scotch for Manitoba drinkers. The Cabinet will consider drafting a letter to the relevant authorities.

Slainte!