Highland Park Between You and I is a collab with chef Björn Frantzén, who runs no less than three Michelin ***-star restaurants. The whisky is a 16-year-old single malt, led by virgin Swedish oak casks, with some bourbon and sherry-seasoned oak casks added to the mix.
Instead of tasting notes, each bottle comes with a set of 16 prompt cards to help spark personal associations as you explore the whisky’s depths of flavour. Like “What weather do you taste?” We’ll keep it at proper tasting notes, if you don’t mind.
While I’m writing this, a new release was presented, in collaboration with artist Laila Gohar.
Highland Park 16 yo ‘Between You and I’ (48%, OB 2026)
Nose: quite neutral, struggling to open up. Heavy oak with barley notes, but what else? A good dose of brown bread, ginger and caraway seeds. Some Ikea packs and Swedish summer mornings too (remember that for the prompt cards). Whiffs of sea spray and heather, along with some dried grassy notes and peanuts, but overall it stays a little shy. The wood seems to push aside the smoke as well.
Mouth: really sweet, with toffee and dried fruit sweetness, mixed with plenty of oak spice. Ginger, nutmeg and pepper. Orange peels and honey. Salted caramel, along with walnut cake and a slightly resinous (almost industrial) woody note. A leafy note and black tea as well.
Finish: quite long, now getting nutty and peppery, with sweetmint and fragrant top notes.
Certainly not a classic Highland Park. It’s the first time the distillery worked with Swedish oak, and it casts a clear shadow over the original character. Not a three-star whisky. Available from Master of Malt or The Whisky Exchange.