Looking to challenge male-dominant nature of Singapore’s bar culture, Kino Soh, the island city’s finalist at the 2016 Diageo World Class competition, put up Highball, a cocktail bar specializing in highball drinks within a friendly ambiance. Now, an all-female team in Bangkok is paying tribute to Kino’s ideology and is operating the second outpost of the specialty bar, serving some of the most delicious highball cocktails in the city.
Highball is helmed by six female bartenders led by former Bunker mixologist Saimai Nantarat and Thananya “Jib” Samoema (the latter used to work alongside Michele Montauti at Miky’s), who make sure the place retains a non-intimidating and friendly vibe for all cocktail newbies and serves no-nonsense mixed tipples to please cocktail enthusiasts.
Highball, a simple go-to concoction that combines a base spirit and any fizzy carbonated mixer over ice, is turned into addictive signatures like the zesty Yuzu Highball (B220), which is poured out from the city’s very first Jim Beam Machine, a bar contraption that can produce a perfectly balanced highball cocktail with an extra effervescence (you can also ask for plain soda from the machine and you’ll be surprised by its smooth yet fizzy texture). The two bartenders also came up with concoctions of their own such as the Baby Bomb (Jip’s creation), which mixes Jim Beam highball with popcorn syrup and cinnamon (B250), and Saimai’s Intanin (B250), an Aviation-meet-highball that mixes Tanguerey gin with Maraschino liqueur, violet liqueur and tonic. For a silky-smooth tipple that comes with a “girlpower” hashtag, try the Lychee-Rose Gin Fizz, Highball’s take on the Ramos Gin Fizz (that infamous gin cocktail that takes an exponentially amount of time and power to shake), with sweet hints from lychee liqueur and rose syrup (B300).
Highball also churns out delicious casual Thai and Western bites that make the journey here worth your while for dining alone. The hearty pad kra prao (stir-fried basil with rice, B150) is a good choice for the hungry while those feeling peckish can snack on calamari (B150), cheese sticks (B120) or fried meatballs made of herbal pork (B150).
