Highball Solidifies Its Position as a New Alcohol Culture
Low Alcohol Content and Price Lower Entry Barriers
Customizable to Taste... Aligns with Consumer Trends
"After taking a refreshing sip of a highball, I naturally exhale deeply with a 'whoo~!' At that moment, the whiskey's flavor in my mouth and the refreshing sensation that feels like everything has been washed away?that's what I really like."
Self-employed An Jiho (40) has been making and drinking highballs more frequently after work this year. Having a highball with dinner helps relieve the fatigue accumulated from work and gives him the energy to spend the rest of the day more actively. An said, "After finishing work and coming home, I used to feel tired and sluggish, but having a refreshing highball makes me feel lively," adding, "Carbonated drinks often emphasize sweetness, but when I mix soda water with dry liquor, it’s not sweet and leaves a clean aftertaste, so I enjoy drinking it."
Recently, the hottest keyword in the liquor industry is undoubtedly ‘Highball.’ A highball, made by mixing various liquors and beverages, offers a thrilling refreshing sensation and an affordable price, making it easy to approach. Moreover, it can be easily and diversely made at home according to one’s own style, captivating a wide range of consumers and establishing itself as a new liquor culture.
A highball is a type of cocktail characterized by a simple preparation method: filling a glass with ice, adding a certain amount of distilled liquor, and topping it with soda water. There are various theories about the origin of the highball, but the oldest record is found in the 1895 book "The Mixicologist" by Chris Lawler. According to The Mixicologist, a highball is defined as a glass filled with ice and soda water, topped with 1.5 ounces (oz) of brandy or whiskey.
In Korea, influenced by Japan, the ‘Gaku Highball’ made with Suntory’s whiskey ‘Gakubin’ is regarded as the standard highball and gained popularity mainly in Japanese-style pubs since the 2010s. Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, as home drinking and solo drinking cultures expanded, the highball, which anyone can easily make at home with just distilled liquor, soda water, and ice without special ingredients or techniques, gained attention and became popularized.
Excellent Drinkability, Infinite Expandability, and Affordable Price?The Perfect Trio
The recent rapid spread of highball culture can primarily be attributed to its excellent drinkability. Since a highball dilutes the high alcohol content of distilled liquor with soda water, even those unaccustomed to strong spirits can relatively easily try and enjoy it. Also, because it contains refreshing soda water, the emphasized crispness makes it easy to pair with various foods, even on Korean tables where spicy and hot dishes are common.
Myeong Wook, an adjunct professor in the Barista & Sommelier Department at Sejong Cyber University, evaluated the highball as a new type of liquor item that continues the legacy of ‘Somaek’ (soju + beer). He explained, "When carbonated drinks like cola and beer are involved, pairing with food becomes easier," and analyzed, "For Koreans familiar with the culture of drinking side dishes, the carbonated cocktail highball is gaining popularity as a familiar yet new attraction, extending from Somaek."
The infinite expandability of the highball is also an advantage. Whiskey is the most commonly used liquor in making highballs. However, any distilled liquor such as brandy, gin, rum, or vodka can serve as the base for a highball. Soda water can also be varied according to taste, from carbonated water to ginger ale, tonic water, or cola, aligning well with recent consumer trends that emphasize individuality.
Lastly, affordability is an indispensable factor in its popularity. Because a highball dilutes distilled liquor, the original aroma and flavor of whiskey become lighter during preparation, so relatively inexpensive whiskey is often used. Also, compared to drinking whiskey neat, the amount of whiskey consumed decreases. This is why the highball is called a drink suited for the ‘cost-effectiveness’ era. According to the Korea Customs Service, whiskey imports in the first quarter of this year increased by 78.2% year-on-year to 8,443 tons, far exceeding the 24.0% increase in whiskey import value during the same period. This indicates that the quantitative growth speed of the domestic whiskey industry is faster than its qualitative growth.
Growing Demand... Will It Establish a New Drinking Culture?
As demand for highballs increases, craft beer companies are also releasing highballs in the form of RTD (Ready to Drink) beverages. The most active among them is Kabrew. Kabrew launched the ‘Easy Highball’ in March, followed by the ‘Ready Highball’ last month, and on the 9th, they officially expanded their business by releasing two types of ‘Kabrew Highball’ draft highballs for commercial use in large keg products.
A Kabrew representative said, "The keg highball is an all-in-one highball designed considering the convenience of business owners and providing consumers with consistent quality products," adding, "Just as we have introduced various canned highballs, we plan to expand the highball lineup steadily based on continuous recipe development."
In response to Kabrew, Sevenbrau Beer released the ‘Black Neon Highball Lemon Tonic’ last month, and Amazing Brewing Company, which recently collaborated to launch ‘Miero Highball,’ also filed trademarks for ‘Amazing Andong Highball’ and ‘Amazing Yeongju Highball’ in February, signaling their intention to expand their highball business.
A craft beer industry insider explained, "As highballs become trendy, relatively large craft beer companies are producing highballs to diversify their sales," adding, "In the U.S., famous breweries have also made and sold related products as hard seltzers, which are similar to highballs." Hard seltzer is a compound word combining ‘hard,’ meaning alcohol, and ‘seltzer,’ meaning carbonated water, referring to alcoholic fruit-flavored carbonated beverages.
Convenience stores are also expanding their product lines leveraging large-scale distribution channels. GS25 started with two types of ‘Kushima Sa One More Highball’ in January and has expanded to 10 types, including ‘Royal Oak Premium Highball,’ ‘Koshu Highball,’ ‘Bourbon Whiskey Highball,’ and ‘Maldives Highball,’ responding to the market. CU also launched two types of ‘Up Up Highball (Lemon & Earl Grey)’ in November last year and has since released ‘Real Whiskey Highball,’ ‘Yantai Tonic Highball,’ and ‘Cheongsin Lemon Highball,’ increasing its product lineup to six.
Initial sales are also going smoothly. GS25, which introduced its first highball product in January this year, saw sales of highball products increase by 246% in the recent three months (February to April) compared to the same period last year. During the same period, CU’s highball sales also rose by 77.3%. A GS25 representative said, "Since March, we have created a separate category for highball products to manage them, leading the liquor trend," adding, "We plan to expand the related liquor assortment and focus on nurturing it as a new growth category."
The industry expects that the popularity of highballs will not be a fleeting trend but will establish itself as a drinking culture. This is because the price range is not high, making it easy for anyone to try, and the number of possible combinations with various ingredients is nearly infinite. Professor Myeong predicted, "Highballs have greatly lowered the entry barrier to distilled liquor," adding, "If people come to like highballs, they will eventually want to experience various liquors, providing a foundation for the related industry to continue growing."
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