Highland Park

In 1999 Edrington bought Highland Distillers, with William Grant & Sons taking a minority interest.^4,5,6 Since 2004 it has matured its spirit mainly in sherry casks of European and American oak.^6,7 In April 2012 Graham Manson took over as distillery manager from Russell Anderson, who left for The Macallan after 15 years in Orkney.¹² In March 2025 it reopened after a modernisation that included a £13 million mashhouse upgrade.^2,13,14 A new heat recovery system reuses heat from distillation to dry malt, removing the need to burn coke.^2,13,14 In July 2025 Gordon Motion retired as master whisky maker, and Marc Watson took over.¹⁵ Motion had joined Edrington in 1998 as an assistant to the Famous Grouse master blender, and later led Highland Park.¹⁵

Highland Park malts about 20% of its barley on its own floors, and the rest, unpeated, comes from the mainland.^1,6,7 It peats its own malt to 20 parts per million phenol, a measure of the smoky compounds that peat smoke leaves.^6,11,16 Peat from Hobbister Moor, which it owns, burns in the kiln for the first 18 hours of drying.^6,11,16 Orkney peat is made mostly of heather, which gives a lightly smoky, fragrant character.^6,7 Its water comes from Cattie Maggie’s spring, though Whiskypedia names Crantit.^6,7,11