Full Answer
How do you make the alcoholic drink called a highball?
- Fill the tall, narrow-mouthed glass with ice cubes.
- Pour your chosen liquor over the ice.
- Hold the glass at a slight angle and slowly pour the club soda into it. No need to stir. Garnish with citrus (optional).
What kind of whiskey is in a highball?
Whiskey Highball Recipe
- Ingredients. With so few ingredients, you can enjoy this drink with little fuss; making it the perfect drink to unwind with after a busy day.
- Whiskey Highball Variations. There are many ways to put your own spin on the classic whiskey highball. ...
- Japanese Whiskey Highball. ...
- More Cocktail Recipes You’ll Love. ...
How did the drink highball get its name?
- Dublin Minstrel
- Dutch Word
- Bird is the Word No.1
- Bird is the Word No. 2
- Closing Argument
- Final Ward
- Latest Word:
- Loose Talk
- Marvin’s Last Word:
- Monte Cassino:
What is the difference between highball and cocktail?
Cocktail noun. A species of rove beetle; - so called from its habit of elevating the tail. A highball is a mixed alcoholic drink composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer, often a carbonated beverage. Examples include the Seven and Seven, Scotch and soda, gin and tonic, Screwdriver, and rum and Coke.
Why is it called a highball?
The name may refer to the practice of serving drinks in tall glasses, on the dining cars of trains powered by steam locomotives, where the engine would get up to speed and the ball that showed boiler pressure was at its high level, known as "highballing".
What is considered a highball drink?
A highball is any two-ingredient cocktail that contains a small amount of base alcohol (usually two to three ounces), and a larger amount of non-alcoholic mixer (usually four to six ounces).
What does a highball or lowball drink mean?
The difference between highball and lowball was the amount of filler added to a spirit. A highball contains way more filler than a lowball, which is supposed to be "spirit with a splash of filler".
Is highball an alcohol?
A highball is a family of cocktails that use base alcohol and a larger percentage of mixer, like fruit juice or soda water.
Is vodka soda a highball?
The highball family is a large one, and you've certainly met some of its members, whose reputations have risen and fallen over the decades. The gin and tonic, the vodka-soda, the rum and Coke, the Scotch and soda — all siblings.
Is Jack and Coke a highball?
How to make the best Jack and Coke. There are a few tips to making just the right version of Jack and Coke. This drink is a highball cocktail, meaning that it has a higher percentage of mixer (juice, soda water, or cola) than alcohol.
What is a whiskey ginger ale called?
The Whiskey Ginger is another name for mixing whiskey and ginger ale. It's essentially the same as a Whiskey Highball, a classic cocktail born in the early 1990's. A highball cocktail is a family of drinks that combine alcohol with a larger percentage of non-alcoholic mixer, like the gin and tonic or vodka soda.
What is the difference between a highball and a Collins glass?
There is technically a difference between a highball and a collins glass: “A highball is a tall, skinny glass. A collins is just a taller glass,” Piacentini says. Collins glasses are usually a couple ounces larger than a highball, but only due to the additional height.
What's a whiskey glass called?
The old fashioned glass, otherwise known as the rocks glass and lowball glass (or simply lowball), is a short tumbler used for serving spirits, such as whisky, neat or with ice cubes ("on the rocks"). It is also normally used to serve certain cocktails, such as the old fashioned, from which it receives its name.
What is the best highball?
Best Overall: Riedel Coca-Cola Glass “My favorite gin and tonic glass––or, as I like to call it, the original highball––is Riedel's Coca-Cola glass,” says Sipsmith Ambassador Keli Rivers.
What is whiskey with water called?
On the Rocks – This simply means that whiskey will be served with ice. Whiskey with Water – This is just it – whiskey with water.
How do you order a highball?
Served over ice as an On the Rocks. 1) Neat: An ice-free beverage (meant to be sipped). (3) Up: Stirred with ice and then poured into a chilled beverage glass (this would be appropriate for a whiskey-based martini, such as a Manhattan).
Etymology
The name may refer to the practice of serving drinks in tall glasses, on the dining cars of trains powered by steam locomotives, where the engine would get up to speed and the ball that showed boiler pressure was at its high level, known as "highballing".
History
Initially, the most common highball was made with Scotch whisky and carbonated water, known simply as a ' Scotch and soda '.
Name origins
The origins of each drink’s name give us a little insight into the difference between them and is an interesting bit of cocktail party trivia.
What's a highball?
At its heart, a highball is a spirit combined with a single mixer in a tall glass. Rum and Coke, whiskey sour, or scotch and soda are all examples of this popular drink option.
What's a cocktail?
Unlike the simplistic highball, the cocktail is a much more involved drink. A cocktail is a single spirit or a mix of spirits combined with other juices, creams, or beverages to create a delicious combination of flavors. Cosmopolitans, martinis, and margaritas are all classic examples of a cocktail.
Similarities and differences
The two are confused so much because they are so similar and arguably interchangeable in most scenarios. A hardball is a cocktail with a limited number of ingredients. What truly sets these drinks apart from each other is not their contents but, rather, how they are served.
Regional differences
Depending on where you are in the world, a highball definition may be a little different.
Last call
There is a difference between a highball and a cocktail, but the extent of that difference is arguable.
The Highball
During the late 19th century, trains heading into stations would look for the highball, a colored ball that was attached to a pole as a signal to engineers that all was clear, full speed ahead. Bartenders serving railroad workers, named their favorite drink after the signal. Made with 1.5 oz.
Drinks Served in a Highball Glass
Many popular warm-weather drinks call for 1.5 oz. of spirits and 3 or 4 oz. of juice, and most bartenders serve them in highball glasses. Familiar cocktails such as the Cape Codder, screwdriver, seabreeze and Tom Collins are all served in highball glasses.
Lowball Glasses
The short and wide lowball glass holds 4 to 10 fluid oz. Also called a rocks glass, bartenders use the glass for simple drinks with a limited number of ingredients served over ice. Classic drinks such as scotch and soda and bourbon and water are served in a lowball glass.
Lowball Cocktails
Lowball glasses are also called old fashioned glasses after the once popular drink. An old fashioned calls for a spoonful of sugar, a dash of bitters, 1.5 oz. of whiskey and a splash of soda. Mixed drinks that are primarily alcohol and use sugar, bitters and liqueurs for flavor are served in lowball glasses.
When is a cocktail called a highball?
To put it short, a Highball is a kind of cocktail. This means that every Highball is technically a cocktail, but not every cocktail is a Highball. But why is it called Highball then?
The Highball glass
Highball cocktails even have their own type of glass. The highball glass is slim and tall, containing between 8 and 12oz. As the name implicates, it's higher than an old fashioned glass (lowball glass) and a bit wider than the super-slim collins glass. Many highball cocktails are served in this typical glass.
History of the Highball cocktail
Many people claim that they created and served the first highball cocktail. One of the most probable stories is that the highball was brought to Manhattan, New York by the English Actor E.J. Ratcliffe in the late 19th century. And almost all of the first highballs were whiskey highballs.
Japanese Highballs
The Highball cocktails are very popular in Japan. They are served as an alternative to beer during dinner. After office hours, many Japanese workers head to their favorite Izakaya to eat and have an alcoholic drink to mark the end of the working day.
Lowballs
Today, the term lowball cocktail refers to cocktails served in a so-called lowball glass, also known as old fashioned glass or rocks glass. So, typically, that would be cocktails like whiskey sour, rum sour, and Negroni.
