But the premium drinking scene is becoming more adventurous. Globally, Cognac sales are falling as consumers look beyond established luxury labels, while single malt Scotch is attracting drinkers interested in provenance, craftsmanship and the story behind what they are drinking. In Nigeria, that shift is beginning to show up in the way premium consumers think about their choices too. The bottle still matters, but so does the experience inside it.
That creates an interesting opening for Highland Park. The Orkney single malt is not trying to imitate Cognac or compete by simply being another status bottle. Its appeal lies in giving the drinker something different to discover, while still fitting naturally into the social world where premium spirits have always played a role.
For Lagos' nightlife crowd, that makes the whisky particularly interesting.
A Different Kind of Smoke
For anyone moving from Cognac into single malt, smoke can be one of the first things to consider. Some whiskies make their peat impossible to ignore. The smoke can be intense, medicinal and almost confrontational, requiring a palate that already knows what it is looking for.
Highland Park takes a softer route. Its peat, sourced from Hobbister Moor in Orkney, is used to smoke the barley and gives the whisky its distinctive aromatic character. Unlike the heavier medicinal character associated with some heavily peated whiskies, Highland Park's smoke is floral and rounded, allowing the sweetness, spice and fruit in the whisky to remain part of the experience.
That makes it an interesting proposition for the premium drinker who is curious about whisky but does not necessarily want to begin with the most aggressive expression of peat.
The Highland Park 12 Year Old brings together heather honey, Seville orange, spiced fruitcake and aromatic peat smoke. There is sweetness, fruit and spice alongside the smoke, creating a profile that is expressive without becoming overwhelming.
For a drinker accustomed to the richer, fruit-led character of Cognac, that combination offers a familiar starting point with something new layered over it.
And that is perhaps where Highland Park's place in the changing premium spirits conversation becomes clearer. The appeal is not simply that it is a single malt. It is that it gives the drinker another way to experience luxury through flavour.
From the Island to the Table
There is also the question of provenance, which has become increasingly important to consumers who want to understand the products they choose.
Highland Park's story begins in Orkney, where the distillery has been making whisky since 1798. Its approach remains closely connected to the island. Barley is hand-turned and dried using traditional methods, while the whisky is matured in European and American oak casks made to the distillery's specifications.
Even the peat has a local story. Hobbister Moor, just outside Kirkwall, supplies the heathered peat that gives Highland Park its distinctive smoke.
The result is a whisky that carries its origin with it.
That sense of place changes the conversation around the bottle. Instead of simply recognising a luxury label, the drinker has something to explore: why the smoke tastes different, where the peat comes from, how the whisky is matured and what Orkney contributes to the final character.
For a premium audience increasingly interested in craft and provenance, those details are part of the value.
The VIP Table Has Changed Too
This is where the Lagos connection becomes important. Premium nightlife in the city has never been only about what is being poured. The setting, the music, the food, the company and, yes, the bottle on the table all contribute to the experience.
That is why whisky does not need to remain confined to the familiar stereotype of a dark room, a leather chair and a serious conversation about tasting notes.
A single malt can work just as comfortably at a late dinner, in a lounge or on a VIP table surrounded by friends. The occasion does not have to stop being social simply because the spirit in the glass has a long history behind it.
Then the Bottle Enters the Room
There is another reason Highland Park feels at home in this setting: the bottle itself has been designed with its surroundings in mind.
The glass is custom-moulded to catch and reflect ambient light, giving it a distinctive presence when it sits beneath the lighting of a lounge or VIP table. The design draws attention without needing to be loud, allowing the bottle to become part of the atmosphere around it.
That visual presence matters in Lagos nightlife, where presentation is often part of the occasion.
But the bottle's appearance is not disconnected from the whisky inside it. Highland Park's packaging takes inspiration from Orkney's landscape and distinctive light, linking the visual identity back to the place where the spirit is made.
So when the bottle catches the light across a table, there is more going on than aesthetics. It is a small expression of the same sense of place that runs through the whisky itself.
A New Bottle for a More Curious Drinker
The premium spirits drinker is not necessarily abandoning Cognac. Familiar favourites will always have their place, particularly in a culture where certain bottles have become closely associated with celebration and status.
What is changing is the range of things that can communicate those qualities.
A premium bottle can now be about the story behind it as much as the name on the label. It can be about where the spirit comes from, how it is made and whether the experience offers something beyond familiarity.
Highland Park fits neatly into that space.
Its heathered Orkney peat brings a distinctive, floral smoke. Its centuries-old distillery story gives it provenance. Its approach to maturation adds another layer of craftsmanship. And its distinctive bottle gives it the visual presence expected when it arrives at a Lagos VIP table.
For the drinker ready to move beyond the usual order, that combination makes the whisky worth discovering.
Not because the old favourites have disappeared. Because the definition of a premium drink is becoming a little more interesting.