Presbyterian

Scotch split between ginger ale and club soda — the Presbyterian Church was a leading Prohibition advocate, the cocktail bearing its name an intentional irony.

The Presbyterian is an American whisky highball of unusual construction — rather than the standard single-mixer highball, it uses equal parts ginger ale and club soda alongside Scotch or blended whisky, producing a drink that is simultaneously spiced by the ginger ale and brightened by the soda water's clean effervescence. The name carries a specific cultural resonance: the Presbyterian Church in the United States had been one of the most significant institutional supporters of the temperance movement that culminated in Prohibition, and the drink's name creates an irony by combining the church's name with a spirit-containing preparation. One interpretation suggests the club soda represents the water of temperance mixed into the spirit — the church member who partakes but dilutes the sinful element. Another reading is simply that the subdued, doubly diluted nature of the drink suited the image of Presbyterian propriety. The format became a recognized American bar order through the mid-20th century, particularly in the South and in conservative social settings where a whisky drink was acceptable but its visibility needed to be minimized through generous dilution. The drink remains an occasional order at traditional American bars.