Episode 082

Featured Cocktail: The Whiskey Highball

To go along with the spirits we taste through later in the show, this episode’s featured cocktail is the whiskey highball – a simple, beautiful mixed drink that really allows the whiskey to be the star of the show.

To make a whiskey highball, you need:

• 2-2.5 oz of your favorite whiskey
• 4-6 oz of sparkling or seltzer water

All you need to do is build this drink in a collins (or highball) glass with ice, adding first the whiskey and then the sparkling water. And to mix everything together, you just need to give it a few gentle stirs.

The Japanese actually have a ritual that involves stirring a Japanese Whisky highball precisely 13 times before serving, but really you just need a couple times around the glass to make it work.

Garnishes aren’t commonly employed with this kind of cocktail, but hey, if you think a citrus twist or some other garnish is going to enhance the experience, I say go for it.

What you’ll find as you experiment with whiskey highballs is that you’ll get to know your whiskey in a completely different way. We’ve all heard that adding a bit of water to your whiskey opens it up a bit – but adding lots of water with bubbles is going to transform it completely.

You can make whiskey highballs with any whiskey under the sun: Bourbon, rye, Irish Whiskey, Canadian whisky, Scotch, and just about everything in between. You might not want to use the most expensive bottle on your shelf, but we’re not going to tell you not to use a nice whiskey in your highballs. You do you.