Is it just us, or is everyone in Japan right now? While our feeds are flooded with cherry blossoms and listening bars, we’re all about chasing our Nippon fix on home turf. And Suntory Toki Whisky is making it easy, teaming up with 10 Melbourne venues in April and May to present their spins on the signature Toki Highball, alongside one-off small plates designed to pair with the drink perfectly.

There’s a different pairing to try at every venue, but each one’s designed to maximise the refreshing flavours of a traditional Toki Highball. This Japanese classic builds on its Toki whisky base – which is slightly sweet with a hint of spice, green apple and honey – with a topping of premium soda water and a twist of citrus.

At Fitzroy’s moody Izakaya by Tamura, you’ll find a signature Suntory Toki Highball paired with some great-value specials. That means two-for-one yakitori on Mondays, $1 Japanese fried chicken on Wednesdays, $10 Japanese-style curry on Thursdays, and $15 ramen on Fridays and Saturdays. Finish the week on a high with its Sunday deal: a $15 katsu chicken sando, which makes an ideal foil for a whisky highball.

Stay in the know with our free newsletter. The latest restaurants, must-see exhibitions, style trends, travel spots and more – curated by those who know.

SIGN UP

Head along to charming Carlton bistro and cocktail joint Bar Bellamy for the opportunity to sample bartender (and highball enthusiast) Alex Gondzioulis’s take on the Toki Highball. In place of soda, he uses a heady concoction of grapes charred with a blowtorch, then turned into a cordial that’s lengthened with oolong tea. Along with the whisky, it’s spiked with dry Junmai saké, resulting in a refreshing highball that will set you back $22. Match it with an oxtongue skewer with plum mostarda for $10.

Back in Fitzroy, ramen joint Gogyo is doubling down on its specials, pouring a classic Toki Highball and pairing it with its signature smoky kogashi miso ramen. Then, it’s putting a spin on its Salaryman cocktail – whisky, bitter orange and sweet syrup – by subbing in Toki whisky and matching it with a kingfish carpaccio and garlic goma cucumber (cold cucumber salad in a garlic-sesame dressing). Bincho Boss is also putting in the effort: it’s doing the traditional Toki Highball but has also crafted its own version called the Cocoa Toki Highball, with Toki whisky, crème de cacao, hibiscus sparkling water and a chocolate strip garnish. It makes a great bedfellow for Bincho Boss’s snack of whitebait tempura with shiso salt.

Waxflower – Brunswick’s three-in-one Japanese listening bar, Melbourne cafe and European wine bar – is also going traditional with its highball ($19). But it’s fusing a few influences into its snack: a bite-sized potato causa with fig salsa and hot honey. It’s a $14 take on a Peruvian dish where layered potatoes are used like bread slices to sandwich a filling.

Meanwhile, sultry Brunswick East robata and sake bar Kura has a cracking deal: it’s infusing its highball with a blackberry shrub and pairing it with two skewers (miso-butter-glazed squid and baby tiger prawns with fermented prawn butter), both chargrilled, for $22. And in Windsor, Tokyo Tina has a slate of specials to match its highball ($19), all going for $9 each during its happy hour (5pm to 6pm). There’s edamame, an open salmon nigiri and a fried chicken sando.

And CBD pan-Asian diner Lucy Liu is forgoing the savoury in favour of the sweet, matching its Golden Kuri cocktail with a sweet treat of chocolate parfait, red miso caramel and macadamia. The cocktail is $26 and the dessert $18.

Also joining in the highball hijinks is Yakimono, Chris Lucas’s futuristic eatery on Collins Street, with both a classic Highball and a twist on it made with Toki whisky, Cocchi Rosa, shiso, citrus and grapefruit soda – both of which will be paired with tuna tartare. And Carlton’s Good Measure has a Toki Highball that features honey-grape liqueur and yellow chartreuse – a sweet, smooth pairing for its snack of soft goat’s cheese on a wafer cracker with a drizzle of mandarin and gochugaru marmalade.

These highballs and dishes are only available from 1 April – 31 May so get in soon.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Suntory Toki Whisky.