Suntory at Tales of the Cocktail
How do visual cues transform the way we taste?
Mr Lyan Studio was invited to take part in Resonance, a multi-sensory cocktail experience hosted by Suntory Global Spirits as part of Tales of the Cocktail 2025. Each participating bar team was tasked with exploring a different sense; ours was the visual sense. The brief: to investigate how colour, hue, texture and pattern influence the perception and enjoyment of drinks, and to explore how harnessing the visual sense might offer new ways to experience some of Suntory’s most celebrated spirits: Hibiki, Jim Beam Black, and Laphroaig.
Our Approach
Drawing on research including Expectation Theory (how visual cues can influence perceived flavour), the Bouba-Kiki effect (associations between shapes, textures and taste), colour–taste associations, and the Visual Dominance effect, we developed a concept that would reveal new facets of each whisky while creating an immersive, memorable tasting journey. At its core was a celebration of the bartender as curator, shaping not just what’s in the glass, but the entire sensory environment that surrounds it.
Our design centred around a “white cube”: a deliberately minimal, sterile environment where every visual element was intentional. Bartenders dressed in all white. The drinks were the only source of colour, each designed to play with expectations. A neat pour of a deep brown liquid in a Glencairn glass, spritzed with Laphroaig, appeared every bit a dram, yet in reality was a delicate, low-ABV tea sipper, revealing the lighter side of Islay smoke. A vivid pink serve, built on Jim Beam Black, looked like a fluffy sour but drank like a rich, stirred Old Fashioned.
The finale centred on Hibiki. Using music (LCD Soundsystem’s 45:33) and a shifting visual sequence over five minutes, we guided guests through three stages of the drink: sweet, sour, floral. As the visuals moved from sharp monochrome to lush greens and finally soft, rounded pinks, the perception of the drink evolved in step, a live demonstration of the whisky’s balance and complexity.
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