London’s cocktail scene, never shy of reinvention, has found its latest experiment in the unlikely marriage of whisky tradition and fermentation science. Dram, the acclaimed Soho cocktail bar known for its lean, cerebral approach to drink-making, has unveiled a bottled cocktail in collaboration with Johnnie Walker that reimagines the whisky highball from the ground up.
On 8 September 2025, the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Highball will debut exclusively at Dram, priced at £26 per 330ml bottle. It’s not just another pre-batched serve; it’s a study in natural carbonation, precision blending, and the slow, obsessive work of bartenders with too much time during lockdown.
A Pandemic Project Turned Masterwork
The idea originated with Dram’s co-founder Chris Tanner, who began experimenting with fermentation at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. What began as a form of creative survival evolved into a bottled cocktail with its own internal logic. Instead of injecting carbon dioxide, Tanner started with a low-ABV base of coconut water, fermenting it with French sparkling wine yeast. The yeast eats the sugars, creates a delicate fizz, and, crucially, develops a structure of its own—something that can stand beside the weight of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, the brand’s ultra-premium blended Scotch.
Once the fermentation completes, the coconut water is blended directly with the whisky. No added acidity, no citrus, no syrups—just a tightrope balance of brightness, texture, and depth. The result is what Tanner calls a “precisely calibrated highball,” a bottled cocktail that maintains the integrity of Blue Label without dilution.
Redefining the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Highball
The classic whisky highball, that simple duet of whisky and soda, has long been revered in Japan and increasingly across Europe as a way to showcase whisky’s subtleties. But Dram’s version pushes the form into new territory. By fermenting instead of force-carbonating, the team has created a softer, more integrated sparkle, one that lifts rather than masks.
Tanner explains:
“Working with fermentation and natural carbonation pushed our boundaries when it came to not only ensuring the perfect ratios but also guaranteeing a consistently delicious highball. This serve captures Dram’s essence perfectly; it’s an expertly crafted cocktail that showcases our talent for innovation and fermentation.”
In other words, the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Highball isn’t just another bar stunt. It’s a bottled reflection of Dram’s philosophy: classic technique interrogated by modern science, always with a reverence for the spirit in the glass.
Limited, Exclusive, and of the Moment
Available in short limited runs, the highball will only be sold at Dram, which has quietly become one of Soho’s most influential addresses since its founding. At £26 a bottle, it occupies the space between luxury whisky and cocktail art object—something to sip slowly in the bar’s minimalist confines, or to take away as a souvenir of experimentation.
For Johnnie Walker, the collaboration demonstrates how even its most prestigious blend can be refracted through new cultural lenses without losing its aura. For Dram, it’s another notch in the bar’s reputation as a laboratory of ideas. And for drinkers? It’s proof that even the most established of cocktails can still be made strange, precise, and unexpectedly beautiful.
Head over to the bar’s official website for more information.
