Head to head · same category, comparable price
The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old vs Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour
They diverge on 2 of our eight axes, most of all peaty, 0 against 4.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old | Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Highland, Scotland | Islands, Scotland |
| Age | 12 years | 12 years |
| Strength | 43% ABV | 40% ABV |
| Cask | Pedro Ximénez sherry cask, Oloroso sherry cask | Sherry-seasoned American oak, ex-bourbon |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £52 | £42 |
| Per 10cl | £7.43 | £6.00 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £173 | £150 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both from Scotland: The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old from Highland, Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour from Islands.
Both state 12 years.
Cask as each producer describes it: The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old in pedro ximénez sherry cask and oloroso sherry cask, Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour in sherry-seasoned american oak and ex-bourbon.
Neither states chill filtration.
Colour: The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old natural colour, Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour silent.
Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old is £10 dearer a bottle than Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour.
Strength keeps that ordering: £150 a litre of pure alcohol for Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour against £173.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old is 23rd cheapest and Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour 19th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old | Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 4 |
| Sweet | 7 | 6 |
| Fruity | 6 | 5 |
| Spicy | 5 | 4 |
| Woody | 5 | 5 |
| Sherried | 9 | 5 |
| Cereal | 5 | 5 |
| Oily | 7 | 6 |
2 of the eight axes clear 3 points; after peaty comes sherried at 9 against 5.
Identical on woody and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old
Christmas cake, walnut and dark chocolate. Full sherry maturation, not a finish.
Matured 'for at least 12 years' — an explicit minimum rather than a nominal age — exclusively in PX and Oloroso casks with no bourbon component at all.
Full record →Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour
Heather smoke and honey in balance. The best-balanced malt at its price.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old for sherry-cask benchmark, after dinner and value at 43%, Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour for all-rounder and bridge to peated whisky.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old and Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour: glendronachdistillery.com, highlandparkwhisky.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.