Highland Park – Valknut (70cl, 46.8%)

This is an Orkney single malt, the second release in the Viking Legend series, which celebrates the Scandinavian heritage of Orkney. Valknut means 'the knot of the fallen warriors', and its symbol of interlocked triangles stands for the passage from earthly life to the heavenly one. It is bottled at 46.8% ABV in a 70cl bottle. It is made with a larger share of local peated malt and matured in European and American oak sherry casks together with ex-bourbon casks. The nose combines clove and crushed black pepper with pastry-sweet roasted vanilla and crème brûlée. The palate brings roasted vanilla pods, black pepper, oak shavings, clove, aniseed and aromatic peat smoke.