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H.M. Excise Office — Spirit Assessment Record
Official Tasting & Classification Document · Orkney Division
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H.M. Excise Case Ref: GS/1797/0847/ORK  ·  Entry No. 001  ·  Spirit Assessment Record
Official Tasting Note — H.M. Gauger's Assessment

The Highland
Passage

Three whiskies, three distilleries, one journey north.

Format
3 × 200ml
Regions
Orkney · Campbeltown · Speyside
Bottling Style
Natural Colour · Unchill-Filtered
Edition
Limited · No. 001
Assessed & Approved Released for Sale H.M. Excise 2025
£89
Inclusive of H.M. Excise Duty
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Contents of Assessment — Three Spirits, Three Distilleries
Bottle I of III
Highland Park 12 Year
Highland Park 12 Year
Highland Park Distillery
Kirkwall, Orkney · Est. 1798
Bottle II of III
Glen Scotia 15 Year
Glen Scotia 15 Year
Glen Scotia Distillery
Campbeltown, Argyll · Est. 1832
Bottle III of III
Glenburgie 18 Year
Glenburgie 18 Year
Glenburgie Distillery
Speyside, Moray · Est. 1810
Official Tasting Notes — H.M. Gauger's Formal Assessment
Highland Park 12 Year — Bottle I
Kirkwall, Orkney · The salted maritime opener
Assessed & Approved
Nose
Sea salt and heather honey. Distant peat smoke drifting in across the Pentland Firth. Dried orange peel, vanilla cream, and a whisper of beeswax from the old warehouses.
Palate
Rich and warming. The smoke arrives more assertively now, balanced against honeycomb sweetness and stewed orchard fruits. A maritime salinity threads through to the middle, distinctly Orcadian.
Finish
Long and warming, with lingering smoke, dried spice, and a pleasant bitterness reminiscent of dark marmalade. The sea stays with you.
This is the kind of dram that explains why a gauger might find himself suddenly short-sighted when inspecting a particular Orcadian operation.
Glen Scotia 15 Year — Bottle II
Campbeltown, Argyll · The coastal middle act
Assessed & Approved
Nose
A more restrained coastal character. Lemon zest and vanilla sponge, underlaid with a faint briny quality unique to Campbeltown's position on the Kintyre peninsula. Gentle floral notes emerge with time.
Palate
Toffee apple and butterscotch with a saline edge. The fifteen years in oak has brought remarkable complexity — waves of citrus giving way to coffee and dark chocolate as it develops on the tongue.
Finish
Dry and spiced. Ground ginger, oak tannins, and that distinctive Campbeltown funk that marks this style apart from all others. Medium length, thought-provoking throughout.
Campbeltown was once Scotland's whisky capital — at its peak, home to over thirty distilleries. Glen Scotia is one of only three survivors. The taste of resilience.
Glenburgie 18 Year — Bottle III
Speyside, Moray · The honeyed, orchard-fruit finish
Assessed & Approved
Nose
Pure Speyside opulence. Ripe peach, apricot jam, and freshly baked shortbread. Eighteen years in American oak has lent a generous vanilla warmth and a gentle toasted coconut quality. Entirely welcoming.
Palate
Lusciously textured. Honey and clotted cream give way to stewed pear and hints of white chocolate. A whisper of spice — cinnamon and nutmeg — provides definition without interrupting the effortless flow.
Finish
Extraordinarily long. The sweetness of the orchard fruit retreats slowly, replaced by warm vanilla and a lingering oakiness that speaks of patient maturation. The perfect conclusion to this Highland journey.
Glenburgie remains relatively unknown outside the trade — its spirit most commonly found as a component in blends. This independent bottling reveals what it has been hiding all along.
Superintendent's Overall Assessment

The Highland Passage presents a coherent and compelling argument for the diversity of Scotland's whisky-making heritage. Moving north from Speyside through Campbeltown to Orkney, the drinker traverses not merely geography but history — from the settled grace of the river valleys to the untamed character of the northern islands.

These three spirits were selected personally by our assessors. Each was assessed blind, from cask, against a field of sixty-three candidates. All three are presented here at natural colour, without chill filtration, and without apology.

Assessed & Approved H.M. Gauger's Office, Kirkwall, Orkney · 2025
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