We've been over-describing whisky for a while now. Somewhere between “sun-warmed sultanas” and “a shy curl of maritime smoke,” the ritual became more about polite agreement over tasting notes. A couple of swirls and nods, and then an insistence on the detection of quince. Highland Park, the Orkney distillery founded in 1798 by church beadle and part-time smuggler Magnus “Mansie” Eunson, has decided to interrupt that script. Its latest 16 Year Old single malt, “Between You and I,” produced in collaboration with chef Björn Frantzén, funny enough, actually declines to tell you what you are meant to taste. Frantzén is hardly a token collaborator. The Swedish chef is the only chef in the world holding three separate three-Michelin-starred restaurants—Frantzén in Stockholm, Zén in Singapore, and FZN in Dubai—while overseeing a global portfolio across six countries. A former professional footballer, he pioneered “Nordic-kaiseki,” marrying Nordic ingredients with Japanese culinary principles. The..
