The plainest of the highballs — a measure of whiskey stretched long with cold soda water over ice in a tall glass, crisp, low in proof and built for easy, refreshing drinking. The bubbles lift the whiskey's aroma while the dilution softens its edges, an optional twist of lemon peel brightens the nose, and the soda can be poured heavier or lighter to taste.
Garnish: Lemon Peel
built · Highball · On the Rocks
build
Fill a highball glass with cubed ice.
add
Pour the whiskey over the ice.
top
Top with chilled soda water (roughly two to three parts soda to one part whiskey).
stir
Stir gently once or twice to combine without knocking out the carbonation.
garnish
Express a lemon twist over the surface and drop it in (optional).
No single inventor stands behind the whiskey highball; it belongs to the broad highball family, a loose category of spirits lengthened with a bigger pour of carbonated mixer, and its archetype is the scotch and soda, long the most common version. The name is often traced to railroad slang, after old signals whose raised globes told a crew the line ahead was clear. In Japan the drink took such root that haibōru simply means a whisky and soda, yet it has never received an official IBA specification.