Highball Glass

The highball glass is a tall glass tumbler that is most commonly used for cocktails served on the rocks, often with a high ratio of non-alcoholic mixer to spirit. The name is derived from the classic Highball cocktail, which is a simple combination of scotch whisky and soda water.

However, “highball” is also a large and loosely-defined category of drinks. For some bartenders, a highball can only be a spirit (it doesn’t have to be scotch) mixed with soda water, but for others it can include any cocktail served in a highball glass, like the Dark ‘n Stormy, Mojito, Americano, Tom Collins, or Fernet and Coke.

Luckily, if you’re looking to make a highball cocktail, you probably don’t have to look very far for the glassware—most drinking glasses are some form of highball glass (as long as they’re tall and relatively narrow), and should work fine for your boozy needs. Hell, you’ve probably used them to make a Rum and Coke before without thinking about it. You’re a pro already!