Anejo highball is a rum highball using ginger beer. Very pleasant, and the rum shines through and pairs beautifully with the ginger beer.
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What is the Anejo Hihgball ?
The Anejo Highball is a pleasant rum highball, created by legend Dale DeGroff in the early 2000s. It’s meant to invoke the spirit of Havana bartenders, back when the Prohibition era drove American tourists to Cuba for boozy vacations. The drink has become a modern classic, and it’s definitely one of the more pleasant rum and ginger beer mixes.
Anejo Highball Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz aged rum
- 0.5 oz orange liqueur
- 0.25 oz lime juice
- 2 dashes aromatic bitter
- 4 oz ginger beer
Instructions
- In a shaker combine rum, triple sec, lime juice, ice. Shake well.
- Strain into Collins glass half-filled with ice.
- Top with ginger beer, stir lightly.
- Garnish with lime wedge or wheel.
Notes
- This is very rum-forward, so make sure you use a rum you love.
- Can tone things down with white rum, if you like.
- Barely sweet, relies only on ginger beer for sweetness.
When is this drink best ?
Anejo Highball works very well as a drink to hold onto for the entire evening. It’s got a bit of flavor and sweetness but it’s lower in alcohol content so it won’t hit you too hard. I could see this as a summer evening drink, or later spring just going into summer. The aged rum is very pronounced and it will give you a hint of summer Pina Coladas, tamed by the ginger beer. Overall a very casual but still flavorful drink.
My thoughts on Anejo Highball
I kind of liked Anejo Highball, even if the flavors weren’t as bold as I’d expect from a rum drink. This is a long drink, but you can still taste most of the notes in the rum. I think the aromatic bitters add a nice touch but they’re not mandatory; you could easily make this without the bitter. I’d also add more orange liqueur, or express a bit of orange into the drink next time since I think it could work well.
If you like Anejo Highball, you might also like…
Caribeno – very light, rum-based, just as casual as the Anejo Highball
Rum Collins – a Tom Collins with rum
Mojito – the classic rum and mint highball
Canchanchara – a rum cocktail older than Mojito
Dark & Stormy – a trademarked dark rum and ginger beer highball
Notes, substitutes, and tips
Whichever kind of rum you use, make sure it’s a rum you really like. The ginger beer won’t do much to hide or tame it, so it’s going to be very noticeable.
This calls for aged rum, but I think spiced rum will work fine too.
I used triple sec, but you can use any orange liqueur you like.
