Food design studio Bompas & Parr has made whisky tasting more theatrical by using a church organ to heighten the perception of different flavours while drinking.

Designed for scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker Blue Label, The Flavour Conductor produces sounds and light effects during an immersive performance with the intention of stimulating six distinct tastes for audience members sipping the drink.

Bompas & Parr commissioned one of Britain's oldest organ specialists, Mander Organs, to create the bespoke church organ and worked with sensory research professor Charles Spence to "voice" the sounds emitted from the pipes.

Sounds are combined with imagery that covers the smooth sculptural body of the instrument using projection mapping to "correspond in a manner scientifically proven to influence the perception of taste".

"Developing The Flavour Conductor has been an epic undertaking, combining several centuries worth of technology, literature and science," said studio co-founder Harry Parr. "It's been hugely exciting bringing the talents of multiple disciplines of craftsmen and artists together."

As part of an event titled Symphony in Blue at London's Merchant Taylor's Hall last month, audience members sipping their glass of whisky were supposed to be able to distinguish between the flavours of peat, malt, fruit, wood and spices at different points in the performance.

"During a performance of Symphony in Blue, the effect on the audience is compelling, and it really does help you pick apart the rare depth and character of Johnnie Walker Blue Label," Parr said.

The Flavour Conductor has a series of chimneys that group together the pipes, rising to different heights and each with its top cut off at an angle. A small cabinet for storing whisky bottles and glasses is hidden in the side.

The idea was adapted from various literary references, including J K Huysmans' 19th century novel A Rebours, which describes a flavour organ that gives taste to music, and a similar concept outlined in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

The installation forms the centrepiece of an experience, which took place on 16 September in London and will travel around the world over the next year.

Bompas & Parr also combined food and music in a project for Heinz baked beans, for which they created a musical spoon that you listen to through your mouth and a set of handmade bowls to match the brand's five new flavours.

The designers have also developed glow-in-the-dark ice cream for eating in dark cinemas and jelly moulds of famous buildings.