It’s a devilish delight!
Simple Highballs are made with a base spirit leavened with ice and a lengthener such as club soda, ginger ale or cola. The ratio can range from 1:2 liquor to mixer, for the classic form, up to 1:4 if you’re looking for a weaker drink. Examples include the namesake Highball, the Pimm’s Cup and the Presbyterian (as well as the familiar Rum and Coke, but not the Cuba Libre, which with the juice of half a lime I’m putting into the Complex Highballs subcategory). In drinks such as the Screwdriver or the Cape Codder, the bubbles are eliminated in favor of fruit juice, but otherwise the model remains the same.
Complex Highballs have added juice, liqueurs, or other ingredients; examples include the Dark and Stormy, the Americano, and the Anejo Highball.
A Collins is a highball with the addition of lemon juice and sugar, such as in a Tom Collins (another way of looking at it is a Tom Collins is a (simple) Gin Sour with club soda and ice). Substitute lime juice for the lemon, and get rid of the sugar, and that Collins is now a Rickey.
And Fizzes? Historically, this is pretty much the same thing as a Collins or a Complex Highball, except the spirit and modifiers (not including the soda) are shaken with ice and strained into a small glass, then topped with an ounce or so of soda and served without ice. As you might expect, this kind of drink can quickly grow warm and flat; and as you probably figured out, they’re intended to be knocked back in short order, before any such misfortune can occur. Examples include the Silver Fizz and the Ramos Fizz. Category description by Paul Clarke, Serious Eats
Highballs, Collins & Fizzes
Paloma
Mexico’s national aperitif, the Paloma cocktail, is a simple tequila and grapefruit mix with tangy salt and bubbles. What’s not to like? It’s a thirst-quencher with …