Average
Frothy, Fruity & Tropical
3 Minutes
Cocktail Glass
Ingredients
Highlife is a shaken vodka cocktail that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Absolut Vodka, egg white, pineapple juice and triple sec – the kind of combination that makes you wonder why this drink isn’t more well known. Consider this your best kept secret.
Shaken and served in a chilled cocktail glass, Highlife is tropical and citrusy with a silky foam head courtesy of the egg white. Not a lot is known about where it came from. What is known is that it works.
How To Make a highlife COCKTAIL
Bar tools you’ll need
Fine Strainer
Jigger
Boston Shaker
Hawthorne Strainer
Knife
How to Mix
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Pre-chill a cocktail glass.
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Prepare your Pineapple Juice — cut fresh Pineapple into chunks, removing the skin and core, and blend or juice until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.
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Use a jigger to measure and pour freshly made Pineapple Juice into a cocktail shaker.
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Use the jigger to measure and add Absolut Vodka, Egg White, and Triple Sec.
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Fill the shaker with ice cubes.
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Seal the shaker and shake hard – the Egg White needs a vigorous shake to create that silky foam.
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Open the shaker and place a Hawthorne strainer over the opening. Hold a fine mesh strainer over the chilled cocktail glass with your other hand. Pour the cocktail through both strainers into the glass.
All about the Highlife cocktail
Highlife is a shaken vodka cocktail made with Absolut Vodka, egg white, pineapple juice and triple sec, served in a chilled cocktail glass over ice. Think a Vodka Sour but with a tropical twist.
The tropical sweetness of pineapple juice and the bright citrus character of triple sec work naturally together – balanced and clean, with Absolut Vodka providing a smoothness underneath.
What makes the Highlife genuinely interesting is the egg white – an ingredient more commonly found in classic sours than tropical drinks, giving this one a silky, creamy texture and a frothy head.
Not much is documented about the origins of the Highlife. What we can say is that the combination of vodka, egg white, pineapple juice and triple sec places it firmly in the tradition of the classic sour – a formula that has been producing excellent cocktails for well over a century. The Highlife is a worthy addition to that tradition.
- Shake hard
The egg white needs a vigorous shake to emulsify properly and create that signature frothy head. A half-hearted shake produces a half-hearted foam. Don’t hold back. - Double strain
Always double strain using a Hawthorne strainer and a fine mesh strainer – it removes any ice shards and gives you a clean, smooth pour with an unbroken foam on top. Here’s how to double strain and why it matters. - Chill your glass
Place your cocktail glass in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving. - Try a reverse dry shake
For an even more pronounced foam, try a reverse dry shake – shake the ingredients without ice first, then add ice and shake again. The dry shake emulsifies the egg white proteins more effectively and produces a thicker, creamier head. Check out our article on how to use a cocktail shaker. -
Use fresh pineapple juice
The Highlife uses a small amount of pineapple juice – just 10ml – but it still makes a difference. Freshly juiced pineapple has a brightness and natural sweetness that bottled juice can’t replicate. If you have a juicer or blender at home, it’s worth the extra few minutes.
- Use aquafaba instead of egg white
For a plant-based version, swap the egg white for aquafaba – the liquid left over from cooking chickpeas. It behaves in almost exactly the same way when shaken, producing the same silky texture and frothy head without any animal products. Here’s everything you need to know about aquafaba. - Add a dash of bitters
Standard practice for most classic sours – including the Whiskey Sour – a couple of dashes of bitters on top of the foam adds a layer of complexity that the drink benefits from. Orange bitters echo the citrus character of the triple sec, while aromatic bitters bring a warmer, spiced depth that plays well against the pineapple juice. Either works. Both are worth trying.
- Glassware
Serve in a chilled cocktail glass – the foam deserves to be shown off. - Garnish
Our drink recipe doesn’t include a garnish – the foam is the visual. That said, a pineapple wedge on the rim ties back to the pineapple juice in the drink and adds a tropical touch without overcrowding the glass. - A dash of bitters
A couple of dashes of aromatic or orange bitters on top of the foam adds both visual interest and a subtle complexity that complements the triple sec and pineapple juice. Standard practice for most classic sours and just as effective here.
Highlife Cocktail FAQ
Yes but the silky texture and frothy head that make the Highlife what it is come entirely from the egg white. Without it, you’ll have a perfectly decent cocktail, but a different one.
For a plant-based alternative, aquafaba works just as well. Check out this article on everything you need to know about aquafaba.
You can but given the recipe only calls for 10ml, it’s worth going fresh. A small amount of really good pineapple juice makes a more noticeable difference than a large amount of average juice.
The egg white and fresh pineapple juice both leave behind small particles – proteins from the egg white and fibers from the pineapple – that can affect the texture of the drink if they make it through into the glass.
Double straining using a Hawthorne strainer and a fine mesh strainer together removes all of that, giving you a clean, smooth pour with an unbroken foam on top. Single straining will catch the large ice chunks but let the smaller particles through and with a drink where the foam is part of the experience, it’s worth doing it properly. Here’s how to double strain and why it matters.