Highball
A mixed drink made by serving a spirit with a larger proportion of a nonalcoholic mixer, often soda water, over ice in a tall glass.
Whisky: A distilled spirit made from fermented grain mash and matured in wooden casks. Whisky is the classic base spirit in the Japanese and Scotch highball.
Drink dilution: The reduction of a drink’s strength and concentration as melting ice adds water. Ice melt changes a highball’s balance throughout its service.
Highball (railway signal): A railway signal indicating that a train may proceed at full speed. One account links the drink’s name to a raised signal and a train’s departure.
Gin and tonic: A mixed drink combining gin and tonic water, typically served over ice with citrus. It is a prominent spirit-and-carbonated-mixer example of the highball format.
Old fashioned: A spirit-forward cocktail made with whiskey, sugar, bitters, and water, commonly served over ice. Unlike a highball, it uses little mixer and concentrates the spirit’s flavor.
Soda water: Water infused with carbon dioxide, producing bubbles and a mildly acidic taste. Its carbonation gives the familiar light, sparkling highball texture.
Carbon dioxide: A colorless gas that dissolves in water and forms bubbles when pressure falls. Opening and pouring release carbon dioxide, affecting a highball’s fizz.
Japanese whisky highball: A Japanese style of whisky and soda served very cold, often with careful attention to mixing and carbonation. Japan developed a distinctive highball culture centered on whisky and soda.
Rum and Coke: A mixed drink made with rum and cola, usually served over ice. Its simple spirit-and-mixer construction fits the highball pattern.
Sour (cocktail): A cocktail structure combining a spirit, citrus juice, and a sweetener. A sour relies on citrus and sugar rather than a large proportion of mixer.