Japan has a long tradition not only of drinking but also in creating great Whiskey. Due to a difference in their genes, many Japanese can't consume drinks with high alcohol percentages. Created in June 2018 by yours truly with Dmytro Grypachevskyy and Lucian Obreja from L'Ortolan, the Michelin Starred restaurant in Reading, Berkshire.

The popularity of Scotch & Soda was also helped by the carbonisation of water being heavily industrialised in the 1830s. This also saw the start of the American soda craze with John Matthews of New York and John Lippincott of Philadelphia both starting to manufacture soda fountains in 1832. By the 1850s flavoured bottled carbonated water started to appear with ginger ale first bottled in Ireland.The term highball appears to have emerged during the 1890s with the first known written mention appearing in a play, My Friend From India by Ha Du Souchet in 1894 with a character called Erastus saying "Talking about drinks, I think I'll have one. (enter Jennings) Jennings, bring me a high ball of whiskey."

Torbern Bergman commercialised Priestley's discovery and by the late 1700s, bottled artificial soda waters were competing with natural mineral waters. In 1792, Johann Jacob Schweppe (Schweppes) set up shop in London and in 1807 Henry Thompson received the first British patent for a method of impregnating water with carbon dioxide. That New York Times reference appears to be a letter written by Duffy on 22nd October 1927 to the Editor in response to an editorial piece in the paper. He starts, "An editorial in The Times says that the Adams House, Boston, claims to have served the first Scotch highball in this country. This claim is unfounded." The Whiskey Highballs are tasty, strong-flavored drinks with just the right amount of alcohol. Many would choose a haibōru over a beer as an after-work drink anytime.

Cosmic Fizz

Created by Jayson Jansen van Vuuren and Callum Whitehead from Liquid Chefs and yours truly at The Cabinet Room in London. Besides the quality of ingredients, the way you use them and the ratios of spirit to filler are equally important. Soda water: Use soda water if you’re a whiskey lover! It’s a great way to appreciate the complexity of whiskey with no sweetness.