A World Whisky Day Special: Reinventing Whisky Cocktails With Johnnie Walker Whisky Experiments

On World Whisky Day, held on May 16, 2026, Johnnie Walker Whisky Experiments brought its next edition–One Big Experiment–with flavour-forward innovations, reimagining how whisky can be experienced. Stir, an art gallery in Chattarpur, Delhi, saw crowds of mixologists, cocktail enthusiasts, bartenders, and more show up for an unexpected night of innovation in a glass. At the same time, it was a celebration of the heritage and innovation of Johnnie Walker Black Label.  

The evening saw guests interact with a new roster of whisky cocktails — one that has moved leagues away from the “aadha soda aadha pani” (whisky with equal measures of soda and water) combination that defined the spirit at one point, especially in India. After all, for a whisky that blends different flavour notes (Johnnie Walker Black Label, in particular, combines over 29 whiskies matured for a minimum of 12 years), the cocktails can be anything but one-note. 

The event stood witness to a medley of unexpected flavours, with just the right amount of flair as guests sampled new cocktails, tried their hand at pouring their own, and saw what it means to work with a canvas as wide and layered as whisky. 

The following cocktails use Johnnie Walker Black Label. You can use any other whisky of your choice. 

One Whisky, Multiple Expressions

The event focused on four flavours–coffee, fruity, fresh, and spicy–each championed by four of the nation’s leading bars. The venue was divided into four zones, each dedicated to a flavour. And everything, from the setting to the serve, was built with the flavour in mind. 

There was Lair, a speakeasy from Delhi, India, that joined hands with Araku, a speciality coffee brand, for three whisky coffee cocktails. This zone sat between speciality coffee culture and modern whisky culture, showcasing how whisky can move beyond traditional occasions into more contemporary drinking experiences.

The idea behind the bar menu was to create something familiar and whisky-forward. The signature drink was Coorg, a take on the espresso martini cocktail, but with none of the vodka and all of the whisky, along with mango and a special coffee blend. The other drinks on the menu were Kaapi Nirvana, a spirit-forward mix of whisky, coffee liqueur, robusta aperitif and masala chai milk, and a Tiramisu highball that balanced whisky with orange liqueur and dark roast soda. Here, in particular, drip coffee was used because patience is the key to a good cocktail. 

For most guests, the whisky coffee cocktails were the first serve. And they set the tone for the evening for all guests, the ones who were familiar with whisky and those who had apprehensions about its versatility. The mix of sweet, nutty, bitter, and smoky whetted the appetite, with guests looking forward to what was next on the menu. Because it was clear that whisky was not just getting reinterpreted. It was getting a whole new dimension.

The Affogato Experiment

A “sweet” distraction from the cocktail bars was the Affogato Experiment – a curtain-covered window, serving affogato (a famous Italian dessert comprising a scoop of vanilla gelato, topped with espresso). It was one of the clearest examples of Whisky Experiments, transforming a classic coffee ritual through Black Label. The single window did more to shake the “serious” image of whisky than anything else on the menu, though the fruit zone also pulled all the stops.

The next bar, Nutcase, a cocktail parlour from Kolkata, India, had a challenge of bringing together fruity notes and smoky whisky. Behind the bar stood co-founder and head bartender Swanan Sarkar, while surrounding the bar were juices, candies, marshmallows, and more. Because the zone explored fruit in multiple forms - fresh, preserved, candied, fermented, and reinterpreted.

The signature drink, Mango Season, was inspired by the “aam makha” loved by the people of Kolkata. For Sarkar, the coming together of raw mango, ripe mango, and kasundi is a combination that “always makes sense, and belongs to the summers in Bengal.” That nostalgia shaped the golden-yellow drink, served in a coupe-style glass, garnished with a kesar-mango jujube-style candy. The team ensured the other drinks on the menu didn’t fall behind, serving a cherry-red bittersweet Berry Good Time (inspired by the Boulevardier Cocktail) and a more classic combination of scotch and apple in the Apple Cooler. 

The Fruity zone, inspired by Johnnie Walker’s origins as a grocer brand, showed how Black Label can become expressive and unexpectedly layered. It also reflected how younger consumers are approaching whisky cocktails today - approachable, flavour-led, but still premium.

On the opposite sides of all things whisky, coffee, and fruity was the Fresh zone. Bar Spirit Forward (BSF), from Bengaluru, helmed the zone. Inspired by contemporary drinking culture, the Fresh zone focused on lighter, more sessionable cocktails with complexity, challenging the perception that fresh and whisky don’t go together. The cocktails used crisp ingredients that lift the whisky rather than hide it.

This was a section where every serve sparked curiosity. Whether it was the unexpected intermingling of honey, peach, Thai tea, and coconut water with whisky in the signature cocktail, or the bright green, sweet and citrusy ice-topped drink with glitchy in its name and balance in its taste, the idea of fresh and whisky led to a round of questions. Guests moved away, mulling over how slowly whisky cocktails unfold, challenging the idea of the usual spirits that once dominated the concept of fresh cocktails. 

The last zone had a challenge of introducing spice into whisky and keeping up with the innovation on display. Americano, from Mumbai, aced the challenge with their head bartender, Sumit. Serving cocktails with edge, structure, and confidence, the drinks were sharper and more structured, amplifying the beautiful spice and smoke notes of Black Label. 

Crimson Walker, the signature serve of the zone, combined the depth of smoky whisky with bitter aperitif, a jammy rhubarb falernum, lime, and dry, fortified wine. Garnished with a slice of orange and cherry, this was understated spice – the kind that doesn’t hiss, but settles slowly on your tongue. Joining the league were The Forest Walker and Midnight Smoke. Both cocktails treated spice as a personality that went beyond just heat. While the former got together almond syrup, timur-berry (A Nepalese spice), pink peppercorns and lime, the latter used ancho chilli liqueur and sweet vermouth. All three drinks explored the more intense side of Black Label. 

Across the four bars, guests didn’t just taste the different cocktails but got a chance to understand why whisky makes for a versatile spirit. With signature serves crafted specially for the event, whisky became more than a spirit. It was a talking point, turning guests from mere spectators to chosen ones, watching innovation happen in real time. 

Lessons In Experimentation

Having sampled through the different cocktails and flavours, the guests moved to a DIY cocktail-making session with Navjot Singh. Here, everyone practised the perfect shake for an espresso martini cocktail. The attempts yielded a mix of results, from frothy pours where the coffee beans floated on top to ones where they drowned in the mix. But everyone walked away with a first-hand experience of a cocktail that’s shaken, not stirred. The session drew to a close with an engaging flairlogy performance (flair bartending), set to synchronised music and lighting, followed by a DJ-led set to transition into the evening.

The night ended with a clear consensus — the world of whisky cocktails is no longer old-fashioned, pun intended. The idea of Whisky Experiments has never been to mask the whisky; it’s to reveal different sides of it. 

*Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.