Head to head · same category, comparable price
Bowmore 12 Year Old vs Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour
No flavour axis separates these two, so the choice is price and occasion.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Bowmore 12 Year Old | Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Islay, Scotland | Islands, Scotland |
| Age | 12 years | 12 years |
| Strength | 40% ABV | 40% ABV |
| Cask | American oak ex-bourbon cask, European oak Oloroso sherry cask | Sherry-seasoned American oak, ex-bourbon |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £38 | £42 |
| Per 10cl | £5.43 | £6.00 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £136 | £150 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both from Scotland: Bowmore 12 Year Old from Islay, Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour from Islands.
Both state 12 years.
Cask as each producer describes it: Bowmore 12 Year Old in american oak ex-bourbon cask and european oak oloroso sherry cask, Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour in sherry-seasoned american oak and ex-bourbon.
Neither states chill filtration.
Neither set of specifications is producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour is £4.00 dearer a bottle than Bowmore 12 Year Old.
Strength keeps that ordering: £136 a litre of pure alcohol for Bowmore 12 Year Old against £150.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Bowmore 12 Year Old is 16th cheapest and Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour 19th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Bowmore 12 Year Old | Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 6 | 4 |
| Sweet | 6 | 6 |
| Fruity | 5 | 5 |
| Spicy | 4 | 4 |
| Woody | 5 | 5 |
| Sherried | 5 | 5 |
| Cereal | 5 | 5 |
| Oily | 6 | 6 |
No axis reaches the 3-point gap we call meaningful. Widest is peaty, 6 against 4.
Identical on sweet, fruity, spicy, woody, sherried, cereal and oily.
Each bottle in its own right
Bowmore 12 Year Old
Sea salt, lemon and gentle smoke over sherried fruit. The most balanced entry-level Islay.
Bowmore is precise about wood and silent on strength — its page specifies hand-selected ex-bourbon and Oloroso casks while stating no ABV anywhere. Not to be confused with the separate Bowmore 12 Sherry Oak Cask SKU.
Full record →Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour
Heather smoke and honey in balance. The best-balanced malt at its price.
Full record →Both listed for all-rounder; only Bowmore 12 Year Old for peat curious; only Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour for bridge to peated whisky.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Bowmore 12 Year Old and Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour: bowmore.com, highlandparkwhisky.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.