Highballs are some of the most popular drinks on the planet. Almost everybody who has had a drink has had one, and most people’s favorite drinks are highballs, even if they don’t know what a highball is.

The Highball family of drinks is built upon a simple formula: Liquor and a Balance. That is, first you pour the liquor by measure, and then you “balance out” the rest of the glass with a non-alcoholic ingredient. Because of this, most of the drinks are referred to based solely on their ingredients - you know, this and that. Like, you know, Jack and Coke, Vodka and Red Bull, et cetera.

Nobody really knows the origin of the highball’s name, but there are lots of theories out there. What people do agree on, however, is that they were originally intended to be less strong than the classic, all-alcohol cocktails, so they could be enjoyed any time, instead of just late at night after a big dinner. The reason for this is that they were created during the time when alcoholic beverages were more for when people were simply thirsty than for when people get together to have a good time. Bartenders needed recipes for drinks that were quick and easy to make, yet light enough for workers to not get completely trashed off of one or two drinks, because they were just stopping by during their lunch hour.

Nowadays, having so much as a beer with your burger during lunch can get you canned, so try not to put the highball during the workday theory into practice unless you have a highly unusual level of job security.

As for historical specifics, I won’t pretend to know where exactly they came from or how they were named, so instead I’ll do one better - this week, I’ll be covering the most popular highball drinks around, and, of course, I’ll show you how to make them. Stay tuned.

Highball - Recipe:

• 1.5 oz whiskey
• Balance ginger ale

Fill a highball glass with ice; add the whiskey, then fill the rest of the glass with ginger ale and serve. (Told you they were quick)