Cocktail of the Week: Chivas Mizunara Highball
Try this Scotch take on the Japanese classic cocktail
Words: Jonathan Wells
The highball – a drink mixed every minute around the world, and enjoyed by people of all ages, cultures and tastes alike – first came to prominence in Japan. It’s a little known fact, but one worth knowing – and currently being celebrated by Scotch whisky brand Chivas Regal.
The only ingredients are water, whisky and ice – so it may seem a little basic for the cocktail of the week, but this is a drink without refreshing rival. And, despite its triumvirate of simplistic ingredients, it has a balance incredibly delicate to get right. So get a hold of your ingredients and follow our instructions – for the time is highball.
Begin with a thin highball glass – the way this drink coils on your tongue and spreads directly from the glass to your mouth is best achieved with this design of glass. Next, add some soda water. If you don’t have this at your disposal, try some soft water – which will carry the added alcohol with a viscosity hard water won’t.
Mix the water and whisky to taste, add four strong ice cubes – which will take a while to melt – and leave a little space at the top of your tumbler. If the glass becomes cloudy, or if after three minutes the ice is melting and the ice cube has floated to the top of the glass, the drink will not have a good appearance, and will do little to impress.
Of course, this is such a customisable cocktail that it comes down to personal taste, but we’d recommend a tall glass, good quality whisky – like Chivas Regal’s purpose made Mizunara – and a lime garnish.
This cocktail was created to celebrate this year’s Chivas Masters global final which was held in the iconic city of Tokyo, Japan, in its search for the best bartenders in the world.
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