Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Highballs!

Welcome back drinkers. While on a recent trip to New York, I was reminded by a friend of just how good higballs are.

After having more than a few over the course of the evening, I wondered why I rarely have them out, or why I never really thought to make them at home either. They are about as simple as a drink can be: spirit, carbonation, garnish. I decided this week to start making these a thing. Rather than making a simple scotch and soda (also delicious), I wanted to see what other combinations were out there.  The Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails has a nice scotch highball called the Mamie Taylor. Named after a famous Broadway actress in the early 1900s, it was considered highbrow for the time, and regarded as a drink for the upper class. Presumably due to the addition of the scotch. Unfortunately, prohibition derailed the popularity of this particular highball. Shall we see what all the fuss is about?

Mamie Taylor:

2 oz. Scotch

.75 oz fresh lime juice

Ginger beer or ale

Pour the scotch and lime juice in a highball glass filled with ice. Top with ginger ale/beer and garnish with a lime wedge.

This is a good highball. Simple crisp and straight to the point. My scotch choice was Johnny Walker red, and the mixer was ginger ale. I suppose you could use any scotch with this, but I would suggest nothing higher that Dewars or Johnny Red or Black.

Another suggestion I would make is to use ginger beer instead of ginger ale. I went with ginger ale since that’s what I had on hand. While the flavor was nice, it was a bit sweet. Ginger beer on the other hand is much more dry and the ginger flavor comes out more.

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