Whitebox and Mr Lyan debut RTD line

Ready-to-drink brand Whitebox Cocktails has teamed up with bar owner Ryan Chetiyawardana to release three of his serves in a canned format.

This year, Chetiyawardana, also known as Mr Lyan, will celebrate 10 years since he opened his first venue. Mr Lyan is known for acclaimed cocktail bars including Lyaness (formerly Dandelyan) and Seed Library in London, as well as Silver Lyan in Washington and Super Lyan in Amsterdam. The limited edition Mr Lyan x Whitebox collection of 100ml cans features a Beeswax Old Fashioned, Stonewashed Cosmo and Bulletproof Espresso Martini – three cocktails that reflect the ‘inventive’ style of Mr Lyan and his team. “I’m super excited to share the drop of these limited edition cocktails,” said Chetiyawardana. “My past 10 years have been about good people collaborating with passion to do things that have never been done before. "And we could only do this with our partner Whitebox Cocktails, who have been able to capture the integrity and weird and wonderful recipes in a can. “This is the first time some of our incredible ingredients and cocktails have come to life outside of the bars in single-serve format. “I’ve created these in the way we recommend cocktails in the bars, based on mood and occasion and how the cocktail can enhance that.” The Beeswax Old Fashioned (28.9% ABV) combines Mr Lyan Scotch Whisky, brown sugar and douglas fir bitters, aged in beeswax. It is recommended served neat in a tumbler or over a large block of ice. The ‘luxurious’ Stonewashed Cosmo is a mix of Mr Lyan Bay Vodka, cranberry rosé, limestone and Champagne bitters. The 18.4% ABV serve can be served chilled in a coupe glass, or split over ice in two wine glasses and topped with sparkling wine and ice for a Spritz. Completing the trio is Bulletproof Espresso Martini (18% ABV), made with Mr Lyan Bourbon, cold-press coffee liqueur, salted butter and coffee husk bitters. It has been designed to be shaken and poured over ice, or mixed with tonic water to make an Americano. The Mr Lyan x Whitebox cocktails will be available to purchase from 15 November, exclusively from Selfridges for £6.50 (US$8) per 100ml can. Just 2,000 cans of each serve have been produced. Whitebox was founded by a group of bartenders in 2021, including Alex Lawrence, managing director for Mr Lyan Studio; Ben Iravani, founder of Aberdeen cocktail bars Orchid and 99 Bar; Pietro Collina, former bar director of the NoMad Hotel Group; Josh Rennie, co-founder of Porter’s Gin; and Jack Wareing, Dandelyan alumni and current head of research and development for Whitebox. Whitebox Cocktails recently surpassed its fundraising goal of £450,000 (US$564,124) to accelerate its global expansion.