Highland Park 12-year-old "Stanton's Dram" (Gleann Mòr Rare Find)

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Gleann Mòr, Highland Park, Bevvy and… Hibs?

Gleann Mòr is an independent bottler founded in 2013 by Derek Mair. From its base in Leith, the company releases a wide range of spirits brands, including the Whisky Row Blended Malt, Firkin Gin, Glasgow Gin, Edinburgh Rum and the Rare Find single cask series that bottled up the dram featured in this review. Rare Find sources whiskies from all over Scotland and have made a name for themselves by acquiring a few big name malts and some impressive age statements. The whisky I’m discussing in this piece comes from Highland Park in Orkney and was bottled exclusively for fans of the Edinburgh football team, Hibernian FC, or Hibs, for short.

The whisky was dubbed Stanton’s Dram, after Pat Stanton, a former player and manager of Hibs. Pat is the great-great nephew of Michael Whelahan, a founder and the first ever captain of the team. The club is literally in his blood. He made more than 400 league appearances as a player, won player of the year in the 1969 – 70 season and captained the side that won the Scottish League Cup in 1972. He also played 16 times for his country and then Scotland manager, Tommy Docherty, once claimed he was a better player than England’s Bobby Moore. As a totally unbiased Scotsman, I can confirm that this was absolutely true.

Now, in case you’re wondering, I’m not a Hibs fan. As a native of the country’s west, Edinburgh is practically a foreign land to me but I received a sample of this dram in Bevvy’s 12 Days of Christmas Whisky Calendar and it impressed me so much, I had to share it. Bevvy is an app that allows people to scan bottles and log their whisky collections, as well as being a one-stop shop for news, reviews, ticket sales and other facilities of interest to whisky lovers. However, Bevvy is also the shirt sponsor for Hibs FC.

As for Highland Park, this Orkney malt was the one that first turned my head – it was a 12 year old Highland Park that opened my eyes to the wonders of single malt Scotch. The distillery was officially licensed in 1826 but claims 1798 as its birth because the man who lived in the old bothy was a renowned smuggler and distiller. The brand has long celebrated Orkney’s Norse connections through its branding, which has felt, at times, like it overshadows the quality of the liquid but few would argue that this is still one of the true character malts, capable of achieving greatness under the right conditions.

*Full disclosure: the whisky featured in this review was sent to me free of charge. As always, I will try to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.

The Whisky

The dram is 12 years old and matured in a Manzanilla sherry cask. 350 bottles were available by ballot (on Bevvy, naturally). I’ve no idea if any of them are still available out there in the wild but trust me when I say, this dram would be worth keeping an eye out for, regardless of your affections or lack thereof, for Hibs.

Smell: Lots of walnut. New leather. Some glacé cherries in there too. Syrup. Orange. Chocolate orange liqueurs. Dark chocolate. Some oak there too. Almond. Chamomile tea?! Slightly perfumed.

Taste: First thing you notice is an oily texture and some intense woody spice. Towards the back it turns distinctly oaky and there’s a burst of smoke with some lingering dry fruits on the finish. Water smooths it out a bit – softening the spice and bringing things together. More leather. More dark chocolate. Even some coffee. Bitter oak in with the dry smoke at the end.

Thoughts: This is a wonderfully rich and sumptuous dram. The nose is enticing and complex with so much going on and even though the palate is a little simpler, it’s still a full-on belter. I didn’t read up on the dram before tasting so I assumed it was an oloroso or PX cask by the colour but it felt quirky and unique upon sampling – no doubt the effect of the Manzanilla. The cask is quite dominant but there’s still some spirit character in there. Highland Park’s heathery smoke works really well with the dryness from the oak. The whole thing feels really intense. Like a proper whisky experience. An outstanding dram. It’s almost a shame that it was essentially limited to the fans of one football club but then Hibs fans don’t often have cause for celebration so maybe they deserve something nice.

Price: £95. Certainly not cheap for a 12 year old but it’s worth taking into account that it’s very limited and from a big name distillery – something we don’t see from indie bottlers very often these days. It’s also really bloody good. Having tasted it, I’d gladly pay the price for a bottle.