Synaesthesia is an intriguing and mysterious neurological condition that affects only around 4 per cent of adults but has more than 80 variants. The condition causes a blurring of the senses, where certain words, sounds, tastes and numbers are linked to colour and visuals, and therefore has long been associated with creative types, with famous synaesthetes including Pharrell Williams, Billie Eilish, Frank Ocean and even Nikola Tesla.

For the latest in its Experimental Series, which began in 2017 as a way of “pushing the boundaries of single malt whisky”, Scottish distillery Glenfiddich has teamed up with synaesthetic multidisciplinary artist Jake-Andrew Nason for an immersive pop-up that invites the public to experience a little of his sensory perception.

The Taste in Colour Experiment is an interactive installation hosted in the private tasting room at Silverleaf bar, located in the City’s Pan Pacific London hotel. For four weeks only, the intimate space has been transformed by Nason’s abstract-expressionist canvases, digital projections, soundscapes and tactile surfaces. Accompanying the audio-visual experience is, naturally, a menu of innovative Glenfiddich Orchard Experiment-based cocktails devised by the Silverleaf team in order to trigger all the senses simultaneously.

‘This installation is basically my invitation to experience taste but in an altered sensory state,’ Nason explains. ‘I was truly inspired when Glenfiddich challenged me to interpret the taste of the Orchard Experiment as an immersive art form, not least because so much about the development of this remarkable liquid mirrors my own creative process.’

The 30-year-old artist was invited to create bespoke artworks at the Glenfiddich distillery in Scotland, where he was able to immerse himself in the landscape and whisky. As an experimental musician, Nason also created custom audio for the experiment, which was recorded using sounds from the distillery, with countryside and industrial noises being reconstructed and merged together in an undulating soundtrack that accompanies the experience. Nason describes it as a ‘crescendo that rises and builds as the lighter notes give way to the deeper flavours underneath,’ adding that it’s something his synaesthesia enables him to articulate.

The experiment is open to the public for a limited time and is also available to book for curated experiences, such as art and tasting workshops guided by Nason himself, and a tasting masterclass with the Silverleaf team.

Glenfiddich x Jake-Andrew Nason present: The Taste in Colour Experiment, taking place at Silverleaf, Pan Pacific London, from 11 August-4 September 2022. To make a general reservation, please visit DesignMyNight. For tickets to the Art Masterclass on Thursday 25 August, click here and for tickets to the tasting masterclass on Wednesday 31 August, click here. General admission is free but tickets to the masterclasses cost £35 each.