Friday Happy Hour: Toki Highball

Suntory Whisky Toki is a blend of carefully selected whiskies from the House of Suntory’s globally acclaimed Hakushu Distillery, Yamazaki Distillery and Chita Distillery. Released to the U.S. market earlier this summer, TOKI is a lighter whisky, less smoke and peat, more vanilla, grapefruit, and spice on the finish, making it work particularly well in a highball.

In the 1950s, the highball was a favorite of whisky drinkers in Japan. The Japanese praised this simple, stylish cocktail as a refreshing way to drink whisky. They also loved how well it paired with Japanese cuisine. Since then, Suntory has played an important role in reestablishing the highball as a popular cocktail for a new generation of whisky drinkers.

To make the TOKI highball in the proper Japanese serving ceremony:

Fill a tall glass to the brim with ice.

Add one measure of whisky.

Stir to cool the whisky and glass.

Again add ice to the brim.

Pour three measures of chilled sparkling water along the side of the glass to avoid melting the ice or bursting the bubbles.

Add a twist of lemon.