In the whisky cocktail world, it really seems to be a highball summer. Whether a take on a Paloma, using a flavoured liqueur, or back to the classic, a tall, refreshing serve is the trend of the season. It's fitting — not only is it a fun, accessible way to drink whisky, but if offers lots of room for creativity with your mixers, garnishes, and other ingredients. The flexibility of a highball offers the opportunity to use seasonal ingredients and take inspiration from your surroundings. 

That's what Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery has done with its recipe for a Highland Summer cocktail, created by Luke Coles, advocacy host. Coles explained: "The cocktail draws from the history of our visitor centre, our Perthshire roots, and the fresh ingredients of the season. The building itself was once the malting floor where barley was prepared before becoming the visitor centre in 2000.

"At that time, the only Dewar’s whisky we served was the iconic Dewar’s White Label. For this cocktail, we combined it with Perthshire raspberries to celebrate our Highland surroundings and topped it with peach soda to highlight the fruity notes of Dewar’s. The result is a refreshing, summery drink aimed more at non-whisky drinkers, likely those who would enjoy a highball, as a toast to the next 25 years of the visitor centre."

Ingredients:
35ml Dewar’s White Label
25ml roasted barley tea
20ml fresh raspberry syrup
Peach & jasmine soda
Lemon wheel, to garnish

Method:
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the raspberry syrup, Dewar’s White Label, roasted barley tea, and top with peach & jasmine soda. Gently stir, garnish with a lemon wheel, and enjoy!

Need more inspiration? Catch up on previous cocktail of the week selections.