The distillery’s oldest and rarest release to date, 54 Year Old is intensely rich, sweet and complex. Intriguing aromas of exotic lychee and aromatic camphor, vintage oak and delicate peat, herald the exquisitely balanced flavours that follow. Warm spices – crushed cumin and coriander seeds – emerge and subside to reveal fragrant notes of summer rose and jasmine, with just a hint of honeyed kiwi fruit and pistachio biscotti. Sweet and spicy at the end, woody notes give way to a lingering whisper of sweet fenugreek and heathery peat smoke.

Back in 2008, Highland Park’s Master Whisky Maker Gordon Motion selected 10 refill casks laid down 40 years earlier, in 1968. He discovered a beautiful light-coloured spirit, with the ethereal and fragrant character that belongs to only the oldest and finest whiskies. He tipped the 10 casks into first-fill sherry seasoned casks, selected specifically for the character he knew they would produce, and nurtured the maturing whisky carefully for a further 14 years until it reached the flavour and character he was looking for. Only 225 bottles have been released – representing every year of production in Highland Park’s 225-year history – each one steeped in the magic of the Orkney Islands.