Thor was the first of Highland Park's four Valhalla Collection releases, a 16-year-old bottled in 2012 at 52.1% ABV. Each bottle sits in a wooden frame shaped like a Viking longship, a nod to Orkney's Norse past.
About This Whisky
Thor was released in 2012 as a 16-year-old at natural cask strength, 52.1% ABV, and around 23,000 bottles were made. At launch it was described as bold and forceful on the surface with a softer, sweeter heart, which matches how it drinks.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Heather honey, orange peel and soft peat smoke, with warm spice and polished oak.
- Palate: Full and warming, with honeyed malt, smoky citrus, dried fruit and peppery oak.
- Finish: Long, with embers, honey and island spice.
Serving & Food
Take it neat first in a Glencairn at room temperature, then cut it with a teaspoon of water to calm the heat. Pair with peat-smoked salmon, grilled lamb chops or a slab of honeycomb and oatcakes.
How to Enjoy
Highland Park fans building the Valhalla set, and drinkers who like their Orkney malt big and smoky.
Product Details
Distillery: Highland Park
Collection: Valhalla Collection (first of four)
Expression: Thor
Age: 16 years old
Released: 2012
ABV: 52.1% ABV (cask strength)
Bottles: 23,000 bottles
Volume: 750mL
Origin: Scotland
Region: Orkney (Islands)
About the Distillery
Highland Park is one of a small group of Scottish distilleries still running its own floor maltings. Barley is spread out and turned by hand on the malting floor, then dried in the kiln over peat the distillery cuts itself, which supplies part of its malt needs. Because that Orkney peat is mostly heather rather than wood or moss, its smoke is fragrant and slightly sweet, closer to a bonfire of heather than to the iodine of Islay.
Orkney was ruled from Norway for centuries, and Highland Park leans on that history in its packaging. The Valhalla Collection ran from 2012 to 2015 with Thor, Loki, Freya and Odin, each bottled at natural strength in a smaller run than the one before.