Highland Park Releases Final Edition in Magnus Series

The long-awaited third, and final, edition in Highland Park’s Magnus Series has now been released.

Earl Haakon continues the story of the Orkney Inga Saga but reflects the darker, more sinister character by bringing the murderous cousin into the spotlight.

While the first two bottlings in the series celebrated the influential 11th century Earl Magnus who was canonised to become Saint Magnus only 20 years after his untimely death, his cousin, Haakon, was far closer to the warmongering and violent Viking of legend.

It was, in fact, Haakon who ordered the death of Magnus under the most deceitful and murderous of circumstances.

Highland Park Earl Haakon adopts the character of its namesake through an 18 year old cask strength single malt giving a character-busting ABV of 54.9%.

This Orcadian beast encapsulates the spirit of Haakon, a true warrior, to capture the depth of flavour of Highland Park’s multi-award-wining 18 year old but adds a new dimension achieved through one vatting.

With only 3300 bottles available worldwide, this third edition is set to sell out in record time and build on the success of both Earl Magnus and Saint Magnus.

Gerry Tosh, head of brand educationat  Highland Park, said: "Both previous bottlings began the storytelling but the introduction of Earl Haakon brings the saga to its climax and signals the end of the Highland Park Series.

"This 18 year old cask strength beast is both complex in flavour and bursting with powerful character. This combination will undoubtedly appeal to our fans and I’ve no doubt that Earl Haakon will become a legend in the history of Highland Park."

The Earl Haakon bottle is entirely black glass, made in the same historic way as the previous two bottlings, and is presented in an open black wood window wooden gift box.

Earl Haakon will be available from specialist independent whisky retailers throughout the UK, the Highland Park distillery and online (RRP £160).

Established in 1798 on Orkney, Highland Park is one of the most remote Scotch whisky distilleries in the world. For over 200 years, the distillery has combined time old tradition and the very best craftsmanship to achieve perfection.

Its range of 12, 15, 18, 21, 25, 30 and 40 year old single malts is consistently acclaimed by connoisseurs and experts.

Highland Park has won a string of prestigious awards across its portfolio, most recently including "best new whisky release of the year 2009" for its 40-year-old single malt and "best whisky in the world 2009" for its 21-year-old expression in the World Whisky Awards, as well as four double gold awards in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2009.

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