Some whiskies are made to be drunk. This one was made to be argued over. Highland Park handed cask selection to a Swedish three-star chef, then sent the bottle out with no official tasting notes at all. What comes in the box instead is a set of 16 cards and one question: what do you taste?
The expert's description
Highland Park 16 Year Old Between You and I By Björn Frantzén Single Orkney Malt Scotch Whisky 48% is a Single Orkney Malt Scotch Whisky matured in virgin Swedish oak, ex-bourbon casks and sherry-seasoned oak casks, bottled at 48%.
Björn Frantzén is the Swedish chef behind Frantzén in Stockholm, the first restaurant in Sweden to hold three Michelin stars. His cooking pulls Nordic produce through Japanese precision and French technique, and that way of thinking about flavour is exactly what Highland Park wanted inside the warehouse when the casks were chosen.
Virgin Swedish oak carries the whisky. It is the first time the distillery has matured spirit in that wood, and it brings a dry, nutty spice found nowhere else in the range. Around it sit ex-bourbon casks for sweetness and warmth, and sherry-seasoned oak casks pulling vanilla and dried fruit into the blend. Underneath everything lies Highland Park's own heather peat, dialled well down.
Every bottle ships with those 16 cards. They do not tell you what should be in the glass; they ask questions and leave the wording to you. The whisky is non-chill filtered and bottled at natural colour, so nothing of the character is planed off on the way out of the warehouse.
Tasting notes
Nose
Vanilla and pale orchard fruit lead, then a dry nuttiness from the Swedish oak — somewhere between hazelnut and freshly planed timber. The peat sits far down and reads as dried heather rather than bonfire.
Palate
A soft opening of honey, apricot and candied lemon peel. Then the oak tightens with nutmeg and a flick of black tea, and only at the very end does the smoke slide in from the side.
Finish
Medium length and on the dry side. The spice hangs on, the malt returns, and a trace of salt closes it out alongside the last of the smoke.
Specifications
Name: Highland Park 16 Year Old Between You and I By Björn Frantzén Single Orkney Malt Scotch Whisky 48%
Distillery: Highland Park
Region/Country: Orkney, Scotland
Type: Single Orkney Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 16 years
ABV: 48%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Virgin Swedish oak, ex-bourbon and sherry-seasoned oak casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Between You and I
Flavour profile
Spicy · Fruity · Nutty · Lightly Smoky · Soft
Investment potential
High. This is the first Highland Park matured in virgin Swedish oak, the release is limited in time, and a collaboration between an old Scottish distillery and a three-star chef rarely gets a second run. A cask type that exists nowhere else in the range makes the bottle hard to replace once the shelves clear.
Did you know?
Highland Park sent Björn Frantzén the very first bottle without telling him what to look for. His own associations ran from a tropical palm beach to childhood baking in Sweden, and those responses became the starting point for the packaging design.
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