Highball glass
The tall, straight shape leaves room for plenty of ice and mixer while keeping a long drink lively.
- Capacity
- 270–350 ml9¼–11¾ oz
- Typical pour
- 157 ml5¼ oz
- How it’s served
- A long drink, over a full glass of ice
- In this collection
- 110 cocktails
Why this shape
A long drink is mostly mixer, and mixer goes flat. Tall and narrow means a smaller surface area at the top for a given volume, so carbonation escapes more slowly than it would from a wide glass — and the depth lets a full column of ice sit above the spirit, chilling the drink all the way down instead of only at the bottom.
Getting it cold
Fill it with ice to the very top before you pour. A half-filled highball melts faster than a full one, because the ice has warm glass and warm air around it rather than more ice.
The usual mistake
Being shy with the ice. Less ice makes a drink warmer and more watery, not colder and stronger — the small amount you added has to melt entirely to do the same cooling job.
No highball glass? Use this instead
Use a Collins glass or any tall, straight-sided tumbler.
Cocktails served in it
110 in all, pouring between 83–203 ml2¾–6¾ oz.
