High Times: The Rise and Rise of the Japanese Whisky Highball

Over the past two decades, whisky has become as strongly associated with Japanese food and drink as sushi, saké and ramen. It even has its own iconic serve – the whisky highball – a decidedly old-school drink, which has made a surprising return to bar menus across Australia and the world. The combination of whisky and soda water is on everyone’s lips, but how did Japan end up defining this seemingly simple cocktail?

The history of the Japanese whisky highball, and the many signature versions served in Ginza bars, is proof that sometimes the most basic things allow the most room for refinement.

“There’s a precise technique to making a Japanese highball – there really is a skill,” says Ella Jones, a brand activation specialist with Suntory, whose Toki Whisky is a go-to for bar-menu highballs. Since the middle of the 20th century, Japanese bartenders have been mixing highballs, and they’ve now raised it to the level of an art. But we’re getting ahead ourselves – first, a history lesson.

Japan started importing whisky after the country opened to the rest of the world in the late 19th century. By this point, whisky and soda had already replaced brandy and soda as the drink of choice for fashionable Londoners. The first published recipe for a whisky highball came out in America in 1895, and just 10 years later, the earliest known highball recipe in Japanese was published in a book called Yoshu Chogo-ho (which translates as “the art of mixing Western liquor”).

Back then, imported whisky was a rare item and an upper-class luxury. Shinjiro Torii helped to change this when he founded the distillery that would later become Suntory. “In 1923 he set up Yamazaki, which was the first commercial distillery in Japan, and that’s seen as the birthplace of Japanese whisky,” Jones says.

After the Second World War, the presence of American GIs spurred greater demand for Japanese whisky. In the 1950s, Suntory opened a chain of bars in major cities, called Torys Bars, which specialised in highballs. “There were eventually more than 2000 branches nationwide and they hosted a white-collar crowd winding down after work,” writes 50 Best Bars academy chair Nicholas Coldicott in his book Tokyo Cocktails.

Whisky highballs became a bar staple throughout Japan, remaining on menus even as they began to fall out of fashion in the West. Bartenders developed their own distinctive recipes, involving specific brands, different kinds of ice and citrus garnishes. Those recipes were passed on to protégés who further refined them.

By the 1990s, highballs were no longer popular even in Japan, although bartenders still dutifully offered them alongside other classic cocktails. But the burgeoning craft cocktail movement – a resurgence of interest in old-school recipes and bartending techniques, which started in New York City and London – drove Western bartenders to seek inspiration from Japanese bars.

Their adherence to tradition and a general preference for mid-century American design meant Japanese cocktail bars were like time capsules back to the 1940s. All those recipes Japanese bartenders had passed down over the decades were a wealth of knowledge that seemed to have been forgotten everywhere else.

Japanese techniques for making classic cocktails were suddenly the focus for bartenders and bar flies from San Francisco to Singapore. The global love affair with Japanese cocktails eventually came full circle, as bartenders who specialised in highballs, like Rock Fish’s Kazunari Maguchi, became famous for their exacting recipes. By 2010, izakayas in Japan were serving Suntory highballs on tap. And in 2016, Suntory released Toki Whisky, a unique blended whisky that’s ideal for mixing highballs. Its relatively high ABV of 43 per cent means it holds its own in soda and ice, and its fruity characteristics and subtly spiced, gingery finish complement the citrus garnish well.

It’s just a humble mix of whisky and soda, often with a citrus garnish – so how complicated is a typical Japanese whisky highball? There are no extra ingredients or esoteric techniques; it’s all in how you put it together.

“Initially the whisky is cold, the ice itself is usually block ice, and the glass you put it in is ice-cold. You want quality soda so that the carbonation allows the whisky to aerate. And the large cube of ice allows a slower rate of melting, so the whisky isn’t watered down too quickly,” Jones says. A good cocktail bar will use hand-cut ice, which is not only larger but has surface abrasions that capture bubbles, helping the drink stay fizzy for longer.

Bartenders like Maguchi choose specific whisky and soda water combinations, based on factors like ABV and carbonation, in pursuit of the perfect, refreshing highball.

Jones is thrilled to see Japanese highballs getting worldwide attention while maintaining their unique style. “Think subtle but still refined, with an edge of complexity – it’s iconically Japanese in every sense.”

Having a highball at home? Try the recipe for one of Suntory’s signature serves. Throughout April and May, you can also sample an expertly made Toki Highball at dozens of bars around Sydney and Melbourne, which are showcasing the cocktail alongside one-off snacks that were specially designed to pair with it.

Makes 1 serving. Approx. 1.5 standard drinks.

45ml Toki Blended Japanese Whisky
3 parts premium soda water
Grapefruit slice or lemon peel

Fill a glass with ice and let it chill.

Pour chilled whisky and stir, then add chilled soda (3–4 parts soda to 1 part whisky).

Stir once from bottom to top with a bar spoon.

Add a twist of grapefruit or lemon citrus and enjoy.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Suntory Toki Whisky.