Whisky Highball
Whisky and very cold soda water over plenty of ice. Light, dry and refreshing; simple to make, harder to make well.
- MethodBuilt
- GlassHighball glass
- IceCubes
- Strengthabout 9.8% ABV
- BaseWhiskey
- Tasterefreshing
Recipe
| 45 ml 1½ oz | Blended Scotch whisky or Bourbon or Irish whiskey |
| Top up: 135 ml 4½ oz | Soda water |
Garnish. A strip of lemon peel squeezed over the top, or nothing at all.
Method
- Fill a chilled highball glass to the top with cold, hard ice.
- Pour in the whisky and stir briefly to chill it.
- Top up slowly with very cold soda water, pouring down the side or a barspoon to keep the bubbles.
- Give it one gentle lift with the spoon and add the lemon peel.
About the Whisky Highball
A Whisky Highball is whisky lengthened with soda water over ice. Done carefully, with a cold glass, plenty of ice and lively soda, it is crisp and dry and lets the whisky's aroma come through. One part whisky to three or four of soda is a good range.
History
Documented
Brandy and soda was a fashionable British drink for much of the 19th century, and Scotch and soda took over as Scotch became popular. In the United States the name "highball" appears in bar guides from the mid-1890s, and by 1900 it was a standard order. In Japan the whisky highball became a staple of bars in the 1950s and was revived on a large scale in the 2000s, with careful attention to ice, glass temperature and carbonation.
Legend and lore
Patrick Gavin Duffy, a New York bartender, later wrote that he introduced the Scotch highball to America in the mid-1890s, and the distiller Tommy Dewar told a story of his own. Neither claim can be checked. The name is often explained by a railway signal ball raised to tell a train to go; that explanation is plausible but unproven.
Disputed or unclear: The origin of the word "highball" is not known.
Variations
- Gin and Tonic. The same simple build with gin and tonic water.
- Horse's Neck. Bourbon or brandy with ginger ale and a long spiral of lemon peel.
- Japanese-style highball. Very cold whisky and strongly carbonated soda, often 1 to 4, in a thin glass full of ice.
Bartender's notes
- Keep the whisky, soda and glass cold; warm ingredients melt the ice and kill the fizz.
- Do not stir hard after adding soda. One gentle lift is enough to mix it.
