Highland Park whisky maker retires after 27 years
Gordon Motion has handed over the reins of Highland Park after 27 years with the brand, with a limited release created to celebrate the occasion.
Motion said: “I want to thank Highland Park for being my home for close to three decades.
“As I reflect on those, there have been some truly special moments. From selecting 10 exceptional casks from 1968 to create landmark releases like our 56-year-old, through to playing a pivotal role in the growth of our single malt portfolio, together with introducing our first cask strength and global travel retail releases to the world.
“It’s been a great privilege and even better fun to have been a custodian of this truly great single malt whisky.
“I couldn’t ask for a better successor than Marc Watson to take Highland Park into the future. His attention to detail, deep knowledge and love of whisky and distilling, together with his creative flair, makes him the ideal person to become Highland Park’s next master whisky maker.”
Marc Watson has taken up the role of master whisky maker at the Scotch distillery. A Heriot-Watt graduate with 11 years of industry experience, he was most recently master blender for The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt since 2023.
Watson has worked alongside Motion for the past six months to immerse himself in Highland Park’s whisky stocks.
He said: “I’ve always been a huge fan of Highland Park and its different by nature approach to whisky and to life and have a huge admiration for my predecessors who have created the legacy that makes it such a special single malt Scotch whisky.
“I am incredibly excited to build on the award-winning quality that Gordon has nurtured throughout his tenure, while also being able to bring my own creativity.”
Sherry Skies
As a farewell to Motion, Highland Park has released a limited edition whisky to honour his legacy.
Named Sherry Skies, the expression is a 19-year-old single malt. The brand says it celebrates Highland Park’s distinctive character, as well as the ‘combination of science and instinct’ that Gordon has put into every release during his tenure.
The liquid was aged in nine casks, with three different barrel types. Three ex-Bourbon casks were used, as well as three first-fill European oak Sherry quarter casks, and three first-fill American oak quarter casks.
The Sherry casks were crafted and seasoned specifically for Highland Park in Jerez.
Speaking at a farewell event in London, Motion said: “The Sherry quarter casks are so intense in flavour that I had to pull that down a little bit and put some of that light fragrance in from the Bourbon casks.
“The European oak gives you the dried fruit and the tannins; the American oak Sherry’s got that sweet vanilla, and that’s probably the first thing you’ll taste when you put it in your mouth. The last thing you’ll get is that perfume note from the Bourbon cask.”
Limited to 1,200 bottles, the release can be purchased from the Highland Park distillery, Albert Street store and brand website. It retails for £265 (US$360) and is bottled at 48.8% ABV.
Motion added: “I’ve sampled 100,000s of casks during my 27-year career, and the nine selected for Sherry Skies deliver a unique depth of flavour – singing with the Sherry sweetness I have loved exploring and perfecting, balanced with the subtle hint of aromatic smoke of our Orkney heathered peat.
“I hope this farewell dram will give people as much joy savouring it, as I had creating it.”
Last year, Highland Park overhauled its packaging design, with an identity refresh helping it to ‘step into a new era’.
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