Highball

Sheet music cover for a 1915 song by William J. McKenna celebrating the drink

Highball is the name for a family of mixed alcoholic drinks that are composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer.

Etymology

The name may refer to the practice of serving drinks in tall glasses, or the dining cars of trains powered by steam locomotives; when the engine would get up to speed and the ball that showed boiler pressure was at its high level, known as "highballing". Or the name may have come from the railroad signal meaning "clear track ahead".^[1]

History

Initially, the most common highball was made with Scotch whisky and carbonated water,^[2] known where it originated in the UK as a "Scotch and soda".

There are many rivals for the fame of mixing the first highball, including the Adams House in Boston.^[3] New York barman Patrick Duffy claimed the highball was brought to the U.S. in 1894 from England by actor E. J. Ratcliffe.^[4]

Well-known examples of highballs include the gin and tonic, Seven and Seven, and Cuba Libre. A highball is typically served over ice in a large straight-sided highball glass or Collins glass.

Highballs are popular in Japan, often made with Japanese whisky as a haibōru (ハイボール), or mixed with shōchū as a chūhai (チューハイ). Various mixers can be specified by suffixing with -hai (〜ハイ), as in oolong highball (ウーロンハイ ūron-hai). These are consumed similarly to beer, often with food or at parties.

See also

• List of cocktails

References

1. Anthony J. Bianculli. Trains and Technology. University of Delaware Press. p. 134.
2. "The 'Scotch Highball'". New York Times. March 25, 1904. p. 8.
3. "Topics of the Times". New York Times. October 22, 1927. p. 16.
4. Patrick J. Duffy (October 25, 1927). "The First Scotch Highball". New York Times.