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 (a.k.a. vodka and orange juice), ''
fernet con coca'', and
rum and Coke (a.k.a. ''Cuba libre'' with the addition of lime juice). A highball is typically served over ice in a large straight-sided
highball glass or
Collins glass.
Highballs are popular in Japan, where the term ''haibōru'' (ハイボール) is synonymous with a
whisky and soda (rather than an
umbrella term
Hypernymy and hyponymy are the wikt:Wiktionary:Semantic relations, semantic relations between a generic term (''hypernym'') and a more specific term (''hyponym''). The hypernym is also called a ''supertype'', ''umbrella term'', or ''blanket term ...
for assorted mixers).
Shōchū is used to make
chūhai (チューハイ); various mixers can be specified by suffixing with -hai (〜ハイ), as in
oolong
Oolong or Wulong (, ; ; , "black dragon" tea) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea (''Camellia sinensis)'' produced through a process that includes withering the leaves under strong sun and allowing some Enzymatic oxidation, oxidation to ...
highball (ウーロンハイ, ūron-hai).
Etymology
The name may have come from early
railroad signals with raised globes meaning "clear track ahead", i.e., "you're good to go".
History
Initially, the most common highball was made with
Scotch whisky and
carbonated water
Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure, or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescent quali ...
,
known simply as a
Scotch and soda.
See also
*
List of cocktails
A cocktail is a mixed drink typically made with a distilled beverage, distilled liquor (such as arrack, brandy, cachaça, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, or Whisky, whiskey) as its base ingredient that is then mixed with other ingredients or garnishme ...
References
{{Lists of beverages
Cocktails
Lists of cocktails
Two-ingredient cocktails