The Japanese whisky highball is one of those drinks that sounds simple until you have a bad one. Then you realise how badly wrong it can go: flat, warm, over-diluted, poured from a bottle sitting under harsh bar lights for six months too long.
Mitsu London gets it right.
What Mitsu is actually doing
Mitsu isn’t a Japanese-inspired cocktail bar. It’s not a “Japanese-influenced” concept with a neon sign and a sake list. The whole experience pulls you toward Tokyo the aesthetic, the mood, the pace of service. Sushi on the menu. Suntory Toki in the glass.
And the highballs? On tap. Poured in seconds, just like you’d get them in Japan.
That last part matters more than it sounds. The Japanese approach to the highball chilled glass, proper ratio, carbonation preserved, no fuss is why the drink works. It’s why Suntory spent decades evangelising it as an everyday drink in Japan, not a premium occasion. Speed and consistency are part of the point. Waiting three minutes for someone to hand-build your highball at a busy bar defeats the whole purpose.
Mitsu skips that problem entirely.
Why Suntory Toki is the right call
Toki is Suntory’s blend built specifically for the highball format: lighter, slightly sweet, with a clean finish that doesn’t fight the carbonation. It’s a considered choice, not just the default bottle on the shelf.
In a different bar it might come across as an easy option. Here it feels correct. The whisky fits the setting, the setting fits the concept, and the concept is executed well enough that none of it feels like a mood board that got out of hand.
Worth going for?
If you’re in London and care about whisky highballs yes, without much hesitation. It’s a specific thing done properly, which is rarer than it should be.
The bar is at Mitsu London — worth checking their Instagram for hours and bookings before you go.
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