The Highball: Why It's Having a Moment
2024-11-18 · 5 min read
The Highball is technically the simplest drink in the world: spirit, soda, ice. But Japanese drinking culture elevated it into an art form, and the rest of the world is finally paying attention. In Tokyo, the whisky highball is served with a precision that borders on ritual: Suntory Toki whisky, perfectly clear ice, cold soda water poured slowly down a bar spoon to preserve carbonation.
Suntory's campaign to revive Japanese whisky consumption through the highball format is one of the great marketing stories in spirits history. By the 2000s, whisky had fallen out of favor with younger Japanese drinkers. Suntory responded by positioning the highball as a food-friendly, accessible way to drink whisky, installing dedicated highball machines in izakayas across Japan. Sales exploded.
The appeal is obvious once you have a properly made one. A highball opens up a whisky's lighter notes, floral and citrus characteristics that get buried when you drink it neat. The carbonation lifts the spirit, making it refreshing enough for warm weather and light enough to pair with food. It is the anti-cocktail: no technique required, just good ingredients and proper execution.
Western bars have embraced the format with variations beyond whisky. Mezcal highballs, gin and tonic riffs, even rum and soda combinations are showing up on menus under the highball umbrella. The drink's flexibility means it works with almost any base spirit, and its low-ABV profile per serving fits the broader trend toward lighter drinking.
For home use, invest in quality soda water. Fever-Tree or Topo Chico both have the aggressive carbonation that a highball demands. Use a tall, thin glass, plenty of ice, and a two-to-three ratio of soda to spirit. Stir gently once and stop. The highball is not about complexity. It is about doing something simple with total commitment.
