Highball — a genre for lazy geniuses: 10 cocktails with two moves
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Bartenders have a secret we usually don’t share: the most ordered cocktails in the world aren’t complex constructions of ten ingredients, but highballs. Strong spirit, soda, tall glass, lots of ice — that’s it. Gin and tonic — highball. Cuba Libre — highball. Moscow Mule — the same, just in a copper mug. In Japan, the highball made with whiskey and soda has even been elevated to a cult status and is served with food instead of wine.
The genre may seem primitive, but in it, like in any simple task, there’s nowhere to hide a mistake. There are three rules, and they are ironclad. First: ice — all the way to the top, the whole glass, not 'a couple of cubes': the more ice, the slower it melts, and the longer the drink stays a drink. Second: soda — ice-cold, straight from the fridge; warm soda loses carbonation the moment it’s poured, and the highball is born dead. Third: stir — with one motion from bottom to top, at most two. Every extra turn of the spoon knocks out the bubbles, for which everything was started.
Next up — ten highballs from the catalog 24cocktails.com: from timeless classics to Mexican exoticism in a clay pot. None will require a shaker, and almost all can be assembled in a minute. I’ll give the proportions and steps exactly as they are written in the recipes on the site.
1. Gin and Tonic
Starting with something else would be disrespectful to the genre. Gin and tonic was born as a medicine: the British in colonial India drank tonic water for malaria, and to make the bitter medicine go down easier, they added gin. The quinine in the tonic remains to this day — hence the signature noble bitterness. The ratio of one to three is the golden standard: gin is present, tonic refreshes, and no one drowns anyone out.
Ingredients
- Gin — 50 ml
- Tonic — 150 ml
How to prepare
- Fill the highball glass with ice cubes to the top.
- Pour in the gin.
- Carefully add the tonic along the side of the glass.
- Gently stir with a bar spoon.
- Garnish with a lime wedge.
Tip: Tonic is half the cocktail, and skimping on it is as strange as skimping on gin. Try the same gin with two different tonics — you won't believe it's the same drink. You can swap the lime for a slice of cucumber or rosemary — depending on the character of your gin.
2. Tom Collins
A highball with a story: in 1874, America was swept by the 'great Tom Collins hoax' — victims were told that a certain Tom Collins was saying nasty things about them in a nearby bar, and they would rush to confront him, only to find a cocktail bearing that name waiting for them. That's the most popular version, and it's too good not to share. Essentially, a Tom Collins is gin lemonade for adults: a sour made from gin, lemon, and sugar, topped with soda. Fresh, bright, and endlessly drinkable.
Ingredients
- Gin — 2 oz
- Lemon juice — 1 oz
- Sugar — 1 tsp (fine)
- Soda — 3 oz
- Maraschino cherry — 1
- Orange — 1
How to make it
- In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine gin, lemon juice, and sugar.
- Shake well.
- Strain into a collins glass filled almost to the top with ice cubes.
- Add the soda.
- Stir and garnish with a cherry and a slice of orange.
Tip: the only highball on the list that actually needs a shaker — the sugar must completely dissolve in the lemon juice before meeting the soda. No shaker? A jar with a lid will do the trick. Pour the soda down the side and stir once: the foam will settle, but the bubbles will remain.
3. Cuba Libre
“Free Cuba!” — according to legend, this toast gave the cocktail its name at the turn of the century in Havana, when, after the war for independence, local rum met the cola just brought in by Americans. What sets a true Cuba Libre apart from the simple “rum and cola” is one detail — fresh lime, squeezed right into the glass: its acidity cuts through the sweetness of the cola, turning the drink from a sugary fizz into a cocktail with over a century of history.
Ingredients
- White rum — 2 oz
- Juice of half a lime
- Cola
How to make
- Fill the highball with ice.
- Add the light rum.
- Squeeze the juice of half a lime directly into the glass.
- Top it off with cola.
- Gently stir and garnish with a lime wedge.
Tip: Don't throw away the squeezed half of the lime; toss it into the glass — the zest will continue to release oils and aroma. Cola from a glass bottle is noticeably better carbonated than from a big plastic one: you can hear it in the cocktail. And no diet version — its empty sweetness doesn't get along with rum.
4. Dark 'N' Stormy
A Bermudian storm in a glass: dark rum lays down like a storm cloud over fiery ginger beer. Our version is bar-style, inspired by Difford's collection: fresh lime, rich syrup, and a dash of bitters are added to the rum and ginger, making the cocktail more composed and deeper than the beach version with just two ingredients. The ginger beer here is indeed beer, non-alcoholic but fierce: with real ginger heat, not some sweet lemonade 'flavored' with it.
Ingredients
- Dark rum — 50 ml
- Lime juice (freshly squeezed) — 20 ml
- Simple syrup (thick, 2 parts sugar to 1 part water) — 10 ml
- Angostura aromatic bitters
- Thomas Henry ginger beer — 90 ml
How to prepare
- Mix the first four ingredients with ice.
- Strain into a glass with ice.
- Add the ginger beer and give it a gentle stir, garnish with a lime wedge.
Tip: if you want a signature 'storm' — after stirring, slowly pour another half bar spoon of rum on top: it will float as a dark layer. Use a really dark, caramel-rich rum: golden rum gets lost in this cocktail, and the storm turns into a renamed calm.
5. Moscow Mule
A highball that marketing invented, but the whole world fell in love with: according to the classic version, back in the forties in Hollywood, a seller of unsellable vodka met a bar owner with a stock of unsellable ginger beer and a batch of copper mugs — thus was born the Mule, a cocktail that 'kicks' with ginger, making vodka a star in America. The mug isn’t just for show; it’s physics: copper instantly chills from the ice, and the drink is sipped ice-cold until the last drop.
Ingredients
- Vodka — 50 ml
- Lime juice — 20 ml
- Ginger beer — 120 ml
How to make
- Fill the copper mug with ice cubes.
- Pour in the vodka and lime juice.
- Top it off with ginger beer.
- Gently stir.
- Garnish with a lime wedge and a sprig of mint.
Tip: no copper mug — don’t cancel the evening, a regular highball glass will do, just keep it in the freezer. The main thing is to have spicier ginger beer: the hotter the ginger, the more honest the Mule will be. Mint in the garnish isn’t just decoration: your nose catches its aroma with every sip.
6. Paloma
While the whole world is convinced that the main tequila cocktail is the Margarita, Mexico itself drinks the Paloma. The 'Dove' is tequila with grapefruit soda: two ingredients, a mountain of ice, and a hot day becomes bearable. The bitter-citrusy grapefruit turned out to be an even more fitting pair for tequila than lime: it highlights its vegetal character without arguing with it. The most underrated highball on this list — and the fastest way to fall in love with tequila.
Ingredients
- Grapefruit soda — 90 ml
- Tequila — 45 ml
How to prepare
- Fill the Collins glass with ice.
- Pour in the tequila.
- Top up with grapefruit soda.
- Stir gently.
- Garnish with a wedge of lemon.
Tip: Upgrade for thirty seconds — squeeze a wedge of fresh lime into the glass and add a pinch of salt on the rim or right into the drink: salt binds the tequila and grapefruit together, just like they serve it in Mexico. Tequila — only 100% agave.
7. Ranch Water
A highball from West Texas, where they drink it as casually as water — hence the name. The canon is simple: tequila, lots of lime, and icy Topo Chico mineral water with its famous wicked bubbles. Our version is a bit fancier — with orange liqueur and agave syrup, closer to a 'Sparkling Margarita': the same acidic-agave pair, but light, drinkable, and without the sugar punch. The best candidate for the role of 'post-bath cocktail' and really any moment when it's hot.
Ingredients
- Tequila Blanco (100% agave) — 45 ml
- Freshly squeezed lime juice — 30 ml
- Cointreau triple sec liqueur — 15 ml
- Agave syrup — 15 ml
- Sparkling mineral water Topo Chico — 90 ml
How to prepare
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Add tequila, lime juice, Cointreau, and agave syrup.
- Stir and top up with mineral water.
Tip: the mineral water should be highly carbonated and as neutral in taste as possible — without pronounced saltiness or 'pharmacy' notes, as they will overpower the lime. If you can't find Topo Chico, grab any fierce sparkling water in a glass. Mix the base, add the water — and don't stir it again with a spoon.
8. Batanga (Batanga)
The legend of one bar: Don Javier Delgado mixed Batanga for over half a century at the La Capilla cantina in Tequila — according to legend, with the same knife he used to cut limes, and in this gesture lies the entire philosophy of the drink. Tequila with cola sounds suspicious until you try it: the salt and lime flip the flavor, the cola stops being cloying, and the tequila stops being harsh. It turns into a strangely harmonious, earthy-caramel highball, for which people still travel to that little Mexican town.
Ingredients
- Salt — a pinch
- Freshly squeezed lime juice — 12.5 ml
- Patrón Silver blanco tequila — 60 ml
- Cola (like Coca Cola or Pepsi Cola) — 105 ml
How to make it
- In the bottom of the glass, mix the salt with the lime juice until the salt dissolves.
- Add ice and the remaining ingredients.
- Give it a quick stir.
Tip: dissolve the salt in the lime honestly, all the way — any grains left at the bottom will give you a salty last sip. By the book, a Batanga also has a salted rim: run a lime around the edge of the glass and dip it in salt before assembling. And yes, stirring with a knife isn’t necessary — but it’s allowed, Don Javier would approve.
9. El Diablo
The most stylish highball in the collection: blackcurrant liqueur dyes the tequila with ginger ale a deep crimson color, which is why the cocktail earned the nickname 'the devil.' Yet its character is angelic — fresh lime, spicy ginger, berry sweetness: it goes down dangerously easy. It’s built right in the glass, looks impressive, and plays the perfect role as a 'transitional' cocktail for guests who still think they don’t like tequila.
Ingredients
- Lime — 1/2
- Tequila — 1 part
- Crème de cassis — 1/2 part
- Cold ginger ale — 3 parts
How to make
- Squeeze half a lime into a glass with ice.
- Add the tequila and crème de cassis, then top with ginger ale and stir.
Tip: At home, consider the parts as 30 ml: 30 ml of tequila, 15 ml of cassis, 90 ml of ale per glass. Pour the cassis before the ale, second: if you pour it last, it will sink to the bottom in a dark puddle, and you won't get that signature deep color. The ale should be straight from the fridge.
10. Cantaritos
The finale — with signature glassware: Cantaritos in Mexico are served in a clay pot that has been soaked in cold water beforehand. The damp clay cools the drink through evaporation and adds a barely noticeable mineral note — low-tech at its finest. Inside, there's reposado tequila and a whole citrus salad: orange, grapefruit, lime, a pinch of salt, and grapefruit soda. Essentially, it's a deluxe Paloma: juicier, more aromatic, and with a souvenir in hand.
Ingredients
- Patrón Reposado Tequila — 60 ml
- Freshly squeezed orange juice — 45 ml
- Pink grapefruit juice — 22.5 ml
- Freshly squeezed lime juice — 15 ml
- Salt — a pinch
- Thomas Henry Pink Grapefruit Soda — 60 ml
How to prepare
- If you're using a clay pot, soak it in cold water beforehand.
- Fill the pot or Collins glass with ice and pour in all the ingredients.
- Stir. It's easier to serve with a straw.
Tip: no pot? Any ceramic mug will do, the cooling effect will be the same. All juices should be freshly squeezed, that's crucial: there are almost one hundred milliliters in the cocktail, packaged ones will turn it into a fruit drink. Don't skip the salt — it brings together three citrus flavors into one taste.
Ten highballs — and not a single complicated technique: the whole secret of the genre lies in icy soda, a full glass of ice, and respect for the bubbles. Start with a couple of 'gin and tonic and Mule' — those will bring tonic and ginger beer into your home, and each new bottle opens up two or three cocktails from this list. Highball is the best answer to the question 'what to mix quickly to make it tasty': two minutes, two moves, and in your hand — a classic.
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