Cablegram

It shifts the drink. Ginger beer is hotter and usually sweeter, and at 90 ml it will bury 45 ml of bourbon. If you go that way, drop the simple syrup entirely and push the whiskey to 60 ml. Ale keeps this a soft, sessionable highball.

It's the middle of the sensible range. Two to one keeps the whiskey audible in a tall glass. Three to one and it becomes a soft drink with an accent; anything under two to one and there isn't enough liquid to justify the highball at all. Adjust with ice height, not with more soda.

Yes, and it is the sensible way to serve these. Combine the bourbon, lemon and syrup in a bottle and refrigerate up to a day. Pour 68 ml per glass over ice and top each one with soda at the last second. Never pre-mix the ginger ale.

You can, and plenty of people do. What you lose is body rather than sweetness — 8 ml of syrup gives the drink a little weight so it doesn't read as watery once the ice starts working. Cut it to a bar spoon before cutting it altogether, and push the lemon to 20 ml to keep the edge.

A classic Cablegram calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) Bourbon, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Fresh lemon juice, 8 ml (0.25 oz) Simple syrup, 90 ml (3 oz) Ginger ale. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Cablegram is roughly 13% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.

A Cablegram is built directly in the glass over ice — no shaker required. Add the ingredients in order and give it a brief, gentle stir.