Harvest Highball

About the Harvest Highball

Looking for a lighter way to drink Timber Creek’s Florida Apple Pie Rum outside of a heavier dessert cocktail? The Harvest Highball is the answer: rum, a splash of cranberry juice, and soda water, built long over ice so the spice already in the rum has room to breathe instead of being buried under sweetness. The recipe is intentionally simple, and that simplicity is what makes it work.

Florida Apple Pie Rum brings its own apple and baking spice character to the glass, so the cranberry juice only needs to add a light tartness and a rosy color rather than carry the flavor on its own. Timber Creek distills this rum from grain on its family farm in Crestview, and that grain to glass process is part of why the spice notes taste rounded rather than artificial, which matters in a drink this stripped down, since there is nowhere for a flat spirit to hide. Building it could not be more straightforward.

Fill a highball glass with ice, add the rum and cranberry juice, then top with soda water and stir once or twice to combine. A garnish of fresh cranberries and a small sprig of rosemary finishes the glass, adding both a seasonal look and a faint herbal aroma that plays well against the apple notes. Because it is long, light, and only lightly sweet, this cocktail suits an afternoon gathering better than a nightcap.

It pairs naturally with the FoodPairings listed here, turkey sliders and goat cheese salad, and it also holds up well on its own at a fall porch party or tailgate, where a lower proof, sessionable drink is often more welcome than something heavier. It is easy to underestimate a drink this light, but it still carries real alcohol, so pace it the way you would any highball. Savor it in good company, and know your limit.

Looking for a lighter way to drink Timber Creek’s Florida Apple Pie Rum outside of a heavier dessert cocktail? The Harvest Highball is the answer: rum, a splash of cranberry juice, and soda water, built long over ice so the spice already in the rum has room to breathe instead of being buried under sweetness. The recipe is intentionally simple, and that simplicity is what makes it work.

Florida Apple Pie Rum brings its own apple and baking spice character to the glass, so the cranberry juice only needs to add a light tartness and a rosy color rather than carry the flavor on its own. Timber Creek distills this rum from grain on its family farm in Crestview, and that grain to glass process is part of why the spice notes taste rounded rather than artificial, which matters in a drink this stripped down, since there is nowhere for a flat spirit to hide. Building it could not be more straightforward.

Fill a highball glass with ice, add the rum and cranberry juice, then top with soda water and stir once or twice to combine. A garnish of fresh cranberries and a small sprig of rosemary finishes the glass, adding both a seasonal look and a faint herbal aroma that plays well against the apple notes. Because it is long, light, and only lightly sweet, this cocktail suits an afternoon gathering better than a nightcap.

It pairs naturally with the FoodPairings listed here, turkey sliders and goat cheese salad, and it also holds up well on its own at a fall porch party or tailgate, where a lower proof, sessionable drink is often more welcome than something heavier. It is easy to underestimate a drink this light, but it still carries real alcohol, so pace it the way you would any highball. Savor it in good company, and know your limit.