The Japanese Highball
I accidentally ran into the Japanese Highball by mistake, at a restaurant in East Austin that is half-izakaya and half-central Texas smokehouse (BBQ joint). Because Toki whisky itself is already a pale golden color, when mixed with ice and club soda in a crystal glass in the correct proportions (1 part whisky to 3–4 parts club soda), the drink doesn’t look like much and you would think you’d have ordered a La Croix that the bartender served you in a highball glass. This is exactly what I mean by making this beverage’s acquaintance. It was through serendipity, really. One evening, I showed up to dine with friends at the very last minute. When I walked into the izakaya to join everyone else, sitting on the table was a Japanese Highball with my name on it. I had no idea what to expect of this concoction, but seeing how it was cold and carbonated, taking a sip didn’t require much convincing.
And that sip got me.
Now, I was a fairweather fan of The Toki beforehand; it is a great bottle of Japanese whisky and a testament of that island nation’s whisky-distilling prowess. It’s just that I never thought that deliberately watering it down could change its experience to a different dimension.
Not like that, anyway. The right club soda with the proper amount of carbonation turns the Japanese Highball into an effervescent magnifying glass that permits the drinker to inspect the spirit in a bare-naked way that even drinking it neat or adding a few drops of water can’t achieve. It’s not just that the combination of a high quality club soda with just the right mineral content and proper ice acts like that high-end lens to truly meet the spirit, because the Japanese Highball is also a practical beverage. With Texas summer temperatures that can linger in the triple-digits, anything liquid sparkling bubbly, fizzy, carbonated, effervescent, gassy or spumante and frigid can nourish a parched mouth. The hop-heads and beer drinkers refer to any beer that’s easy-drinking and not too alcoholic as “sessionable” and that’s what the Japanese Highball offers to the whiskey enjoyer–a sessionable manner in which to enjoy whiskies properly. After spending hours in the heat, one doesn’t sit down to a pour of neat cask strength Laphroaig or Lagavulin.
This simple drink is magical beyond how it lets the tastebuds explore the incorporated whisky or the way it brings refuge from the arduous climes. Through experimentation I’ve found that mixing those four parts of club soda to one part whisky isn’t just limited to Japanese liquors either. It works well with boozy bourbons too, and much in the same way you can grind and cold-brew and fresh coffee beans and analyze the true content of that coffee, you can project any whisky against the lens of the soda-water and ice. By all means, mixing it with Toki is still my favorite way to drink a Highball and it’s a good starting point for anyone who’d like to see what this is about. At the time I visited this para-izakaya-and-smokehouse, I wasn’t much interested in mixing drinks nor did I have the nomenclature down–funny how things change after becoming a writer and trade-show drinker. Even though I’ve drastically cut back on my liquor consumption, the Japanese Highball remains in the back of my pocket. It doesn’t require any skill to prepare and enjoy.
Hell, in a pinch, even Wild Turkey 101 mixed with Walmart club soda and refrigerator ice works.
***
The Japanese Highball is a simple cocktail consisting of two primary ingredients, club soda and whisky. And good ice, but that goes without saying. A decent Japanese Highball will be prepared with a Japanese whisky like The Toki, which has a golden hue and a vibrant sweetness awfully reminiscent of a good Speyside Scotch.