Sour Strawberry Highball
RECIPE: Reprinted with permission from Pour Together: A Cocktail Recipe Book by Roger Kamholz. Copyright © 2025 by Roger Kamholz. Photographs copyright © 2025 by Suech & Beck. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Photo: Suech & Beck
Experiment with different fruits and spirits in this simple highball.
Can a compelling cocktail be made with just two primary ingredients? That’s the basis for Roger Kamholz’s book Pour Together, which features classic two-ingredient drinks like the Gibson. But he also includes a few recipes that, although still simple, do require some assembly, like this Sour Strawberry Highball. A homemade strawberry shrub brings a punch of tart sweetness but, Kamholz says, don’t stop there. “You’re welcome to mingle with other spirits and other fruits” in this highly modifiable highball recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 oz. tequila
- 1 oz. strawberry shrub syrup
- seltzer, to top
- Tools:barspoon
- Glass:highball
- Garnish:lime wedge
Preparation
Add the tequila and strawberry shrub to a chilled highball glass. Briefly stir to mix. Nearly fill with ice. Pour seltzer down the neck of a barspoon to top. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Strawberry Shrub SyrupWash, trim, and quarter 1 lb. of ripe strawberries. Add to a mixing bowl with 2 cups of granulated sugar and toss to coat. Gently mash the fruit with a fork. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 1 day (but 2 is ideal), periodically shaking the container to redistribute the contents. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar, then strain and transfer the mixture into a resealable bottle, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.