Opinion | History of the highball, Japan’s popular whisky and soda cocktail, from its British and American roots to the origin of its name
- The highball is associated with high-end Japanese bars, but this cocktail of whisky and soda was popular in Britain and the US decades before it reached Asia
- The origins of its name are debated, and procedures for preparing it differ between bartenders, but the drink’s beauty undeniably lies in its simplicity
The simplest things in life are often the best: sharing a pizza with friends, watching the sunrise with a loved one or sipping a perfectly executed two-ingredient cocktail, such as a whisky and soda, on a sunny day.
In 2013, while I was cutting my teeth as bartender at the Savoy Hotel in London, I travelled to Japan for the first time. It was in Tokyo, at the Mori Bar in Ginza, that I had my first whisky and soda, also known as the whisky highball. It was a revelation.
While many associate the drink with high-end Japanese bars, the origins of the whisky highball are far humbler – and perhaps even had a British accent.
If we look at the early 1800s, the highball’s closest ancestor would be the brandy and soda, which was popular in England at the time.
