Hjarta, taking its name from the Old Norse word for 'heart', was released in 2011 as part of Highland Park's series of travel retail exclusives drawing on the distillery's Viking heritage. Bottled at 12 years old and a robust 58.1% ABV, it was presented as a more concentrated, undiluted expression of the house style.
The recipe drew heavily on first-fill sherry-seasoned European oak, the cask type that has defined Highland Park's character for decades. At cask strength and without chill filtration, the spirit shows its full weight and aromatic depth.
The nose is immediately recognisable as Highland Park but turned up. Dark honey, dried fruit, leather and orange peel arrive first, with a firm push of aromatic peat smoke behind them. There is no rough edge despite the strength; the cask has done its work.
On the palate it is powerful and oily, with sherried fruitcake, clove, dark chocolate, toasted oak and salted heather smoke. The interplay between sweetness and smoke is the central pleasure, neither element dominating. A drop of water releases additional honey and orange notes without softening the structure.
The finish is long, smoky and warming, leaving dried fig, leather and lingering oak spice. Hjarta is one of the better travel retail exclusives Highland Park has released and remains sought after by collectors of the distillery's cask strength bottlings.
