There’s still time! Grab your fancy hat and buy a whole load of mint because it’s the first Saturday in May, which means it’s Derby Day. Fifteen years ago I had my first son on Derby Day, when the race was won by Charismatic. Ever since then I’ve had a thing about the derby. I even went once, and have the silver glass to prove it. Why does this matter to you? Because I’ve used the occasion to take a small google course on cocktology and share this knowledge with YOU!

It all started when I saw the Spring Highball spread in Bon Appetit’s April issue. After a winter that would bring out the seasonal affective disorder in Little Mary Sunshine, it made me so happy I wanted to cry. I LOVE spring. The sun is back, the grass is greening and it’s far enough from bathing suit season that there is no cause to panic. In other words, it’s time to party.

In my extensive research I got deterred, as often happens. Pretty soon I was reading not only about highballs but about their history when to shake vs stir a cocktail and the importance of really good tonic water. There went a precious spring morning.

Fortunately, I have distilled (get it?) much of this valuable information in to one reasonably short post that includes foolproof methods that will set you free followed by some delish recipes for those who must follow one.

In case you need more selling on highballs, they are Bring It all stars because they require minimal ingredients and simple preparation. Even the crushed ice can be prepared on site at any indoor, outdoor or on water location. Plus, if you choose to utilize homemade simple syrups like the mint one below, or our ginger simple syrup they make excellent, consumable host gifts AND fun non alcoholic drinks. As a bonus, use of the words “high” and “balls” together will be a huge hit with any middle school boys at your gathering

First, what is a highball? It is a single spirit and a non-alcoholic mixer, typically assembled in the very vessel in which you’ll drink it. Think, gin and tonic, jack and ginger, rum and coke, seven and seven, vodka and blue raspberry slurpee (did I say that?). You can even get a free downloadable cheat sheet on highballogy by signing up for the ManMade newsletter, which of course I did.

Highball 101

The magic formula: 1.5 parts booze: 4 parts mixer.

The Method: Pour 1.5 oz (a jigger, a shot) into an 8 oz rocks glass, or, if you have it, a 10-oz tall narrow highball glass, designed to retain the drink’s fizz.

Fill the glass with standard ice cubes

Fill the glass with your mixer of choice. You can measure four ounces (a half cup), but chances are that with the ice and spirits you’ll be right as rain (and look like a pro).

Shaken vs Stirred

Aspiring cocktologists will want to get friendly with Erik Lombardo who, among many other contributions to society, has an excellent tutorial on when to shake vs stir a cocktail. In it you will learn about the roles that ice size, relative liquid and liquor densities, ambient temperature, acidity, etc play in your pursuit of cocktail greatness.

To paraphrase Sir Lombardo:

Stir spirits. That is, if your cocktail is all liquor, stir it. This includes the martini, Manhattan, old fashioned, negroni, and all of their variations. The ice should be a combination of very dense, large pieces and smaller chips. See tutorial above if you care.

Shake citrus: The major difference between shaking and stirring is texture, because when you shake properly (that is, violently for 8-10 seconds) the ice cubes (five standard sizes ones ought to do it) are shattering into miniscule shards and adding tiny bubbles to your drink. When you’re using citrus as an ingredient, shaking makes it light and refreshing vs acidic and intense.

Stirring = icy, dense, and silky cocktail. Shaking = frothy, light, and crisp cocktail. Shake for citrus, stir for spirits. Ba da bing

Ice Ice Baby

You’re also going to need crushed ice at some point in your education, and you’ll find instructions and videos on the many methods here . The most reasonable is the whack method, #5, which can easily be facilitated at a picnic with a clean towel and a large rock, though I am intrigued by the simplicity and volume of the frozen soda bottle, #9.

 And now, finally,  here are the nuts and bolts of Bon Appetit’s five steps to…

Crafting the perfect Highball:

1. Get the right glass: A proper highball is tall and narrow, with a hefty bottom.

2. Stir, don’t shake: Add all liquids—except the bubbly one—to your glass and give them a quick stir.

3. Don’t have a meltdown:Fill the glass with ice. (Nobody likes a watery highball.)

4. Mind your own fizzness: Top off with the carbonated ingredient—use more or less, depending on desired strength.

5. Finish with a flourish: For a drink this simple, garnish matters.

The article includes a slideshow of six highballs for spring which all warrant extensive testing. However, I’m simplifying your cinco de mayo prep by offering easiest, most refreshing one that happens to be tequila based and is also known as the “working man’s margarita.” It just sounds right!

The Paloma

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• Grapefruit slice
• 2oz. tequila reposado (as ever, love the one you’ve got)
• ½oz. fresh lime juice
• Grapefruit soda (preferably San Pellegrino Pompelmo)

Method:

Pour some salt on a plate. Rub rim of a highball glass with grapefruit slice; dip rim of glass in salt. Combine tequila and lime juice in glass. Fill glass with ice, then top off with soda. Garnish with grapefruit slice.

And finally, its totally worth checking out Erik Lombardo’s most entertaining version of the drink of the day, the Mint Julep here that calls for an “irresponsible amount of mint tops” into which you bury your nose, and cautions you against hypothermia while drinking. It also calls for mint syrup which, while awesome, may not be a reality for you at this late date. Instead, I give you the following version of the mint julep utilizing Woodford Reserve, the official bourbon of the derby.

The Mint Julep

Ingredients:

2 oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whiskey
1 oz water
1 tspor cube white sugar
4 fresh mint sprig

Method:

Muddle 3 mint sprigs, sugar and water in bottom of Julep cup or highball glass and fill with crushed ice. Fill with bourbon, stir. Dust 4th mint sprig with powdered sugar for garnish. Serve with straw.

Bonus: If you thought ahead and went long on mint, here is the recipe for Erik Lombardo’s mint syrup. You’ll be wanting this for mojito season anyway.

Mint Syrup:

Heat 2 parts by volume sugar with 1 part by volume water until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is just simmering. Throw in as many mint leaves as will fit in the pan (it isn’t expensive, don’t be cheap) and turn off the heat. Stir to mix in the leaves, then allow to cool to room temp, a couple of hours. Strain the syrup off the leaves into a clean jar — it will keep in the fridge for a few weeks (if it lasts that long).