Highland Park Magnus

Magnus was crafted to honour Highland Park’s original rebel, Magnus Eunson. A Viking descendant who’d call Orkney home centuries later, he was a butcher and church officer by day—but come nightfall, he turned into a whisky-smuggling legend. With his sneaky still hidden in a stone hut overlooking Kirkwall, that very spot remains the home of Highland Park today. His bold, take-no-prisoners approach lives on, and after 220 years, the distillery’s whisky-making methods have hardly changed—still as daring and uncompromising as Magnus himself.

TL;DR – Highland Park Magnus is an entry-level Scotch designed to offer a smooth, lightly smoky, and approachable introduction to peated whisky, appealing to both new drinkers and fans of the distillery’s Orkney style.

Review: Flavor Camp

Photo: Reece Sims

Flavor Camps

Overall Rating

Total Score: 37.5/50

Aroma: 6.5/9
Taste: 6.5/9
Finish: 4/5
Distinctiveness: 5/5
Overall Drinkability/Balance: 6.5/9
Value for Price: 7/8
Appearance: 3/5

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Light Golden - The The Highland Park Magnus bottle features a sleek and slightly tapered shape, with curved shoulders that give it a bold, elegant presence. It has a thick, solid base for stability and a black cap that adds a modern touch. The glass is embossed with intricate Viking-inspired patterns, reflecting the brand's Orkney heritage and mythology, making the bottle both visually striking and symbolic of its origins.
Aroma: Heather, honey, danishes with marmalade, vanilla, white pepper, spring florals, hints of sherry and a wisp of smoke.
Taste & Mouthfeel: The palate begins with zesty ginger spice, vanilla and white pepper, bright lemon citrus, vanilla shortbread, like smoke that's floral and ashy (not medicinal) and slightly salty.
Finish: The finish is salty and smoky.
Distinctiveness: Highland Park Magnus is distinctive for its use of Orkney peat, which creates a gentler, heathery smoke compared to the intense, medicinal peat of Islay whiskies.
Overall Drinkability & Balance: The overall impression of this Scotch is that it’s smooth, lightly smoky, and approachable, making it ideal for both newcomers to peated whisky and those seeking a more easy-going daily dram.

Product Details

Comments / Notes:

Key points about Highland Park Magnus:

Highland Park is one of the rare distilleries that still malts some of their own barley—about 20% of it, to be exact. They dry it over local Orcadian peat, which, thanks to the island’s climate, is made up of moss and grass, giving the whisky its unique heathery, floral character. They smoke the malt to around 20 phenol parts-per-million (ppm) over a 16-hour period, then blend it with unpeated malt sourced from a mainland malting house. By the time it’s bottled, the peat levels drop to about 4-6ppm, which is pretty mild, but the flavour still packs a surprising smoky punch.

Unique Orkney Peat: The peat used has less iodine influence, lending the whisky a floral, heathery smoke compared to Islay malts

Accessible Style: Magnus was crafted with a lighter profile than other Highland Park releases, designed for drinkers new to peated whisky.