Whiskey Highball

Ward Eight

3 min.Rye Whiskey

Add the fine sugar to a goblet or large wine glass.
1
Add the fresh lemon juice and the grenadine to the glass.
2
Stir with a bar spoon until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
3
Add the rye whiskey to the glass.
4
Add a large lump of ice or a few large ice cubes to the glass.
5
Top up with chilled soda water from a siphon or bottle.
6
Gently stir to integrate the soda water without knocking out too much carbonation.
7
Ornament the drink with mixed fruit, such as a citrus slice and a cherry, and serve.
8

United States
Origin
The Ward Eight is a classic pre-Prohibition cocktail associated with Boston and generally dated to 1898, created at Locke-Ober Café to celebrate political boss Martin M. Lomasney’s election from Boston’s Ward 8. The earliest clearly documented recipe appears in the 1913 The Cocktail Book: A Sideboard Manual for Gentlemen, where it is presented as a goblet drink made with rye whiskey, lemon juice, sugar, grenadine, and soda from a siphon. A later 1922 recipe by Robert Vermeire refines the drink into a shaken sour with rye, lemon, orange, and grenadine, which underpins most modern interpretations.
History
The drink is named for Boston’s Ward 8, a district famous for reliably delivering votes for Lomasney’s political machine. The 1913 Sideboard Manual version is essentially a whiskey sour crossed with a highball, contrasting with later up, shaken versions. Attribution for the drink’s invention has been variously given to Locke-Ober bartenders Tom Hussion, Billy Kane, and to Charlie Carter in a 1934 letter, but none of these claims is firmly documented in original bar records. By the early 20th century the Ward Eight was reportedly described as “the most talked-of drink in Boston,” underscoring its local celebrity status.
Trivia
Raw bar and shellfish, Roast chicken, Lightly grilled pork, New England clam chowder
Pairings
The Cocktail Book: A Sideboard Manual for Gentlemen
Source