Curate An At-Home Highball Starter Kit — With 5 Easy Tips
The whisky highball is simplicity and sophistication rolled into one. It is a fizzy drink comprising a spirit and a sparkling mixer, finished off with a pronounced garnish. Deceptively simple, preparing highballs actually requires quite a bit of precision. What is essential is adding just the right amount of the carbonated mixer to the drink so its bubbles remain intact throughout. The spirit-to-ice proportion also needs to be checked so the latter opens up the flavours of the whisky without the risk of over-dilution.
For those who are starting out on their mixology journeys, the highball can be an interesting starting off point to master a number of blending skills. And one of the easiest ways to fashion a highball is to use a handy starter kit complete with the spirit, mixer and garnishes that make the drink feel both effortless and refined.
Read on below to know more about how to curate an at-home highball starter kit, which you can present as a gift or put to use the next time you are hosting a gathering.
Also Read: What to Serve with Fizzy Highballs: 7 Food Pairing Matches
A Quality Scotch Like Johnnie Walker Black Label
While putting a whisky highball together, think of a spirit that makes for a good base to build the cocktail. This can be about 30 ml of Johnnie Walker Black Label, a scotch known for its layered smoky, vanilla-like notes coupled with hints of dried fruits. This versatile blended Scotch whisky forms an interesting balance of smooth flavours and subtle smoke, which lends it quite a defined character. When used in a highball cocktail, all of its flavour notes interact well with the carbonated mixers added to the drink, cutting through their bright, sparkly textures. Keep a 750 ml bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label in the starter kit so it can be brought out to build highballs made using 30 ml of the spirit per serve.
Premium Soda Water
The next crucial element in the highball cocktail is a fizzy mixer. This can be good quality carbonated water or premium soda water whose bubbly texture lends drinks a sparkling quality. Go for multiple small bottles of a crisp, highly carbonated soda water to prepare the kit. Open the bottle or can as and when required to retain the soda’s bubbly element. Soda water flavoured with citrus like yuzu or lime, can also be added to the hamper so it can be used occasionally to accentuate the flavours of the highball.
Dehydrated Garnishes
One of the most elegant adornments to go atop a whisky highball is dehydrated citrus. Dehydrated orange or lime wheels carry a subdued yet ever-present tart and tangy note, which builds a lot of depth into the whisky highball. Couple the citruses with other herbal elements like dried rosemary sprigs or 1–2 strands of thyme sprigs for a subtle botanical flair and aromatic depth. Store these garnishes, which can be made at home using a food dehydrator in a small mason jar before adding them to the highball starter kit.
Glassware Essentials
Since highball cocktails can be built smoothly in the serving glass itself, having the right kind of cocktail servingware becomes an essential element of the starter kit. Invest in a couple of tall highball glasses when you are starting out on your mixology journey. These glasses will be exceedingly useful later on, when you begin serving slightly more complex highball cocktails. Highball glasses are useful because their shape preserves carbonation and showcases the drink’s clarity. As the bubbles rise in the glass, they make these sparkly elements part of the entire cocktail experience.
Mixer Infusions
What would take this starter kit to a different level altogether are infused mixers or flavour accents. This is a particularly elegant element, especially when you are curating the starter kit for gifting. Add fruity or citrus infusions or simple syrups carrying spicy flavours of cinnamon or floral notes of lavender to small mason jars. A couple of drops of the infusions can then be introduced into the highball cocktail to build more flavour into it. Place a recipe card inside the gift kit with a few notes on how to use these infusions.
*Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
