The Art of the Whisky Highball: How to Mix the Perfect Drink

There's no shortage of people in the world who’ll tell you it’s sacrilege to mix your whisky. The serious reputation enjoyed by the king of spirits has led to the widespread notion that any addition, however well-intended, somehow diminishes the noble dram. But this isn’t the universal truth that many take it to be.

The Whisky Highball – that beautifully simple combination of spirit, ice and soda water – is the perfect way to enjoy whisky when a neat dram doesn’t suit the circumstances. On a hot day, before dinner, with dinner – the Highball transforms whisky into a simple cocktail that’s bracingly cold, remarkably refreshing and full of flavour. By adjusting your ingredients and ratios, you can tailor a Highball to suit any taste, but this is the basic formula for making one at home.

How to make a Whisky Highball

1. Fill a tall glass to the brim with ice. Large cubes are better as they’ll melt slower and keep your drink colder for longer.

2. Pour in 50ml of your preferred whisky and stir briefly to chill.

3. Slowly top with soda water, taking care to preserve the carbonation. About 100ml should be right, but you can adjust to taste. 

4. Stir gently to make sure the whisky is well distributed. A bar spoon is ideal here but a teaspoon will do.

5. Add your garnish. A twist of lemon peel is a safe bet, but you can experiment with other citrus, slices of fruit or fresh herbs to find combinations that elevate the whole drink.

6. Enjoy.

While you can absolutely use a flavoured soda water to compliment the profile of your chosen whisky – as well as adding modifiers like bitters or liqueurs – it’s best to start without them.

You’ll be surprised how much flavour the dilution releases from your whisky. The subtle changes in pH and mineral content from the soda water can highlight some elements and smooth out others. Some whiskies will work well in Highballs and others less well – but when this drink is on point it’s as good a way to kick off your evening as a glass of Champagne.

The history of the Highball

When Scotch whisky first met soda water in the 19th century, it helped boost the spirit’s reputation. What was once considered a rough and rural drink become louche and cosmopolitan, the sort of thing taken to stimulate the appetite before dinner. Consisting of modern blended whisky and the now mass-produced sparkling water – as popularised by Johann Jacob Schweppe – it became a symbol of industrial progress and a worthy successor to the erstwhile fashionable brandy and soda.

The Scotch & Soda is as viable a drink today as it was then. Just as a dash of water can wake up your dram and release more flavour, so too can ice, and soda reveal different aspects of your spirit. Enjoying whisky in this way doesn’t have to mean ‘ruining’ or ‘drowning’ the whisky in your glass – instead it can transform it. Your after-dinner sipper can instantly become a cool, refreshing aperitif. This isn’t a replacement for the neat dram; it’s an alternative to it.

While the term Highball is used broadly to refer to any spirit and sparkling mixer, it’s become popularly associated with whisky and plain soda water – especially in Japan. Like many great cocktails – if we can call this a cocktail – the exact etymology of the name ‘Highball’ is lost to history. But it’s got a certain ring to it that’s made it stick. ‘Two Whisky Highballs please, bartender.’ Like ordering a Dry Gin Martini, it sounds almost as good as it tastes.

The Whisky & Soda arrives in Japan

Suntory, Japan’s first domestic whisky producer, began distilling single malt in 1923. Remarkably, its stocks and facilities were largely unscathed during the Second World War and Suntory was well placed to prosper in the so-called Japanese economic miracle of 1950s and 60s. One of the key moves made by the firm’s founder Shinjiro Tori was to open a string of bars promoting Whisky Highballs as an affordable and modern alternative to sake and beer.

The serve proved enormously popular, dovetailing perfectly with Japanese drinking and dining culture. Long before the whiskies made by Suntory, Nikka and other producers were famous around the world, they enjoyed booming demand built around the Highball.

Though Japanese whisky production flagged towards the end of the 20th century – brought down by a vogue for imported brands and traditional shochu – the turn of the millennium saw increased international attention. When demand for Hibiki, Yamazaki and other single malts and blends boomed in Europe and North America, Japan rediscovered its own whiskies, which in turn led to a reappraisal of the humble Highball.

Though you can find pre-mixed Highballs in cans and on tap in any bar or convenience store in the country, the Highball is also a mainstay at the highest of high-end bars in Japan. Elaborate versions of this simple drink created with finely tuned ratios of water and whisky, hand-carved spears of ice and carefully chosen modifiers like citrus peel and fresh herbs are an art form all their own.

Experimenting with the Whisky Highball

While the combination of whisky, soda, ice and a garnish of your choice offers abundant opportunities to get creative, you don’t need to overthink the Highball when you’re making one at home. The beauty of the drink is in its simplicity, after all. Putting together the perfect Highball is really about taking your time to assemble it carefully – stirring the whisky and ice to chill, slowly pouring the soda so it retains its fizz.

What’s really exciting about the Highball, though, is the way it expresses the whisky at its core. Fresh, complex Hakushu single malt yields an elegant highball with hints of melon, cucumber and wild herbs. The robust world blend Nikka from the Barrel reveals notes of cedar, dried mango and spice that works well with a twist of orange peel. And of course, you don’t have to use Japanese whisky: Caol Ila 12 Year Old and soda, for example, is salty, smoky and mineral – the perfect pairing for shellfish or taken as a cocktail to kick off a good meal.

The only whiskies we might avoid serving in a Highball are very old and expensive drams and those with heavy oak influence, particularly wine or sherry casks. Other than that, you can experiment away.