Summer cocktails… with Whisky?!!!
Dec 09, 2025
Summer cocktails usually mean light spirits, right? That’s fine — but this summer, let’s do something different.
Instead of the usual Tequila, Gin, or Vodka, we’re bringing Johnnie Walker Black Label into the mix for some seriously tasty summer serves.
Why Johnnie Walker Black Label?
It’s a blended Scotch made from around 28 different whiskies, giving it balance, complexity, and versatility. Each whisky in the blend adds something unique, smoky, fruity, and spicy. This is great news for mixing because you can choose to highlight any of these to create cocktails that suit any vibe.
Here are four examples to get you started, but the sky’s the limit.
Cameron’s Highball
- 30ml Johnnie Walker Black Label
- 15ml Orgeat
- 10ml Lemon Juice
- Top Soda
- Method: Build all ingredients in glass, stir to combine. Add ice and top with soda.
- Ice: Cubed
- Glass: Collins
- Garnish: Lemon Wheel
- Approx. 1 Std Drink
Scottish Cowboy
- 45ml Johnnie Walker Black Label
- 10ml Apricot Brandy
- 15ml Honey Syrup
- 15ml Lemon Juice
- Method: Add the ingredients to your tin, then shake with ice and fine strain.
- Ice: None
- Glass: Chilled Coupe
- Garnish: Lemon Twist
- Approx. 1.4 Std Drinks
Skyward Johnnie
- 40ml Johnnie Walker Black Label
- 10ml Verjuice
- 10ml Lemon Juice
- 10ml Simple Syrup
- 30ml Pineapple Juice
- 4 Fresh Strawberries
- Method: Muddle the strawberries and syrup, then add the remaining ingredients and shake hard and double strain.
- Glass: Chilled Coupe
- Garnish: Lime coin discarded
- Approx. 1.3 Std Drinks
Walking on Sunshine
- 45 ml Johnnie Walker Black Label
- 25 ml Lemon Juice
- 20 ml Rich Mango & Kaffir Lime leaf syrup*
- 2 dashes Bitters
- Method: Add the ingredients to your tin, then shake with ice and strain.
- Glass: Rocks
- Ice: Cubed (Large block if possible)
- Garnish: Kaffir Lime Leaf (scrunch it in your hands before placing into the glass to release the aromas)
- Approx. 1.4 Std Drinks
* Rich Mango & Kaffir Lime leaf syrup
- Combine 2 parts caster sugar with 1 part water in a pan and heat on low, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
- Meanwhile, prepare your mango and kaffir lime leaves. Add fresh mango pulp to a bowl, weigh it, and note the amount.
- Add 10% by weight of kaffir lime leaves, tearing each leaf and scrunching it in your hand before adding it to the bowl and zeroing the scale.
- Once the sugar is dissolved, bring it to a boil and pour it over the mango and kaffir lime leaves adding the same weight as the mango.
E.g.
230 g Mango: 23g Kaffir Lime Leaves: 230 g Rich Simple Syrup
- Stir and leave at room temperature to cool. Once the syrup has cooled, it will have extracted the mango and lime leaf flavours. This method is known as “Reverse cooking”. Strain and bottle.
Shelf Life 1-2 weeks.
Key Takeaways
- Summer drinks don’t have to be based on light spirits like Vodka, Gin and Tequila.
- Using a Blended Scotch like Johnnie Walker lets you work with a wide variety of flavour notes in your finished cocktail.
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