Glossary
45 terms. Search the meaning as well as the word - the common case is remembering what something does and not what it is called.
- ABVMeasures
- The percentage of a liquid that is pure ethanol, by volume. Most spirits are bottled between 37.5% and 40%, having been diluted down from much stronger.See also standard drink, dilution
- AmaroIngredients
- A bitter liqueur, sweetened and low enough in strength to pour by the measure rather than the dash. Campari and Aperol are the two most bars carry.See also bitters
- AquafabaIngredients
- The liquid from a tin of chickpeas, used in place of egg white. About 20–25 ml stands in for one, with no allergen and no flavour of its own.See also dry shake
- BalanceStructure
- The state in which no single element - sweet, sour, strong or bitter - arrives on its own. The only thing that decides whether a drink is good.See also sour, dilution
- Bar spoonTools
- A long twisted-shaft spoon for stirring and layering. The bowl holds roughly 5 ml, so it doubles as a measure.See also stir, layer
- BittersIngredients
- High-proof spirit infused with bark, root and botanicals until undrinkable alone, used in dashes. Gives sweet and sour something to push against.See also amaro, dash
- Boston shakerTools
- Two tins, or a tin and a glass, that seal together under a knock. More capacity and faster than a three-piece cobbler, and it will not freeze shut.See also shake, hawthorne strainer
- BuildTechnique
- To assemble a drink in the glass it is served in, usually over ice, rather than mixing it elsewhere and straining it in.See also shake, stir
- Collins glassGlassware
- A tall narrow glass of about 300–410 ml. Narrower than a highball, so a fizzy drink stays fizzy longer.See also highball glass
- CoupeGlassware
- A shallow stemmed glass for drinks served up. Holds less than it looks and spills far less than a Martini glass.See also up
- DashMeasures
- One shake of a bitters bottle, roughly 0.8–1 ml. Small enough that precision does not matter and consistency does.See also bitters, jigger
- DilutionStructure
- The water a drink picks up from melting ice, normally 20–25% of the finished volume. Inseparable from chilling: the cold comes from the melting.See also shake, stir, balance
- Double strainTechnique
- Straining through a fine sieve as well as the shaker's own strainer, to catch ice chips, pulp and citrus seeds.See also hawthorne strainer, fine strainer
- DressedService
- Garnished and presented to the same standard as an alcoholic drink. Applies to soft drinks, and to a glass of water.See also garnish
- Dry shakeTechnique
- Shaking without ice before shaking with it. Lets egg white or aquafaba foam properly, since the proteins denature far better warm.See also shake, aquafaba
- Fine strainerTools
- A small conical sieve held under the shaker while pouring, to catch what the hawthorne lets through.See also double strain
- Free pourMeasures
- Measuring by counting through a pour spout instead of using a jigger. A real skill, and the first thing to slip when a bar gets busy.See also jigger
- GarnishService
- What finishes a drink. Not decoration: a twist sprays oil across the surface and changes what the first mouthful smells like.See also twist
- Hawthorne strainerTools
- The strainer with a coiled spring round its edge. Sits on a shaker tin and holds back ice and fruit.See also julep strainer, double strain
- HighballStructure
- A spirit lengthened with a non-alcoholic mixer over ice. Also one of the six root families.See also long, highball glass
- Highball glassGlassware
- A tall straight glass of about 240–350 ml, for any long drink over ice.See also collins glass, long
- JiggerTools
- A two-sided measure. In millilitres the useful pairs are 30/15 and 60/30, which cover nearly every spec in this book.See also dash, free pour
- Julep strainerTools
- A perforated spoon-shaped strainer that sits inside a mixing glass. The stirred-drink counterpart to a hawthorne.See also hawthorne strainer, stir
- LayerTechnique
- To float ingredients on one another in visible bands, working from the sweetest and heaviest upward, pouring each over the back of a bar spoon.See also bar spoon
- LongService
- Served in a tall glass, filled with ice, and lengthened with a mixer. The opposite of short.See also short, highball glass
- Mixing glassTools
- A heavy-based glass for stirring, wide enough for a bar spoon to travel round the inside without catching.See also stir
- MuddleTechnique
- To press fruit or herbs to release their juice and oil. Fruit takes real pressure; herbs take almost none, and grinding mint makes it bitter.See also muddler
- MuddlerTools
- A blunt pestle for pressing fruit and herbs. Flat-headed rather than toothed - teeth shred mint instead of pressing it.See also muddle
- NeatService
- A spirit poured on its own at room temperature, with no ice at any stage. Not the same as up, which has been chilled.See also up, on the rocks
- Oleo saccharumIngredients
- Citrus peels buried in sugar for a few hours. The sugar draws the oil out of the peel, giving an intense citrus syrup from fruit you were going to juice anyway.See also simple syrup
- On the rocksService
- Poured over ice in a rocks glass.See also neat, rocks glass
- OrgeatIngredients
- An almond syrup with orange flower water. What makes a Mai Tai taste like a Mai Tai.See also simple syrup
- Rich syrupIngredients
- Two parts sugar to one part water. Sweeter, thicker and longer-keeping than simple syrup, because the sugar concentration itself preserves it.See also simple syrup
- RinseTechnique
- Coating the inside of a glass with a small amount of a strong ingredient - usually absinthe - and discarding the excess, so it seasons the drink by aroma alone.
- Rocks glassGlassware
- A short heavy-based tumbler, also called an Old Fashioned glass. For short drinks, spirits over ice, and anything served neat.See also neat, on the rocks
- ShakeTechnique
- To combine, chill, dilute and aerate in one action, for 8–12 seconds. Used for anything cloudy: citrus, juice, syrup, cream or egg.See also stir, dilution
- ShortService
- Served in a small glass, spirit-forward, with little or no mixer. Meant to be sipped.See also long
- Simple syrupIngredients
- Sugar dissolved in water, usually 1:1 by volume. Rich syrup is 2:1, twice as sweet per millilitre and thicker, so use about half as much.See also oleo saccharum, rich syrup
- SourStructure
- The family of spirit, citrus and sweetener, usually around 2 : 1 : 1 and never exactly. The most productive structure there is - Daiquiri, Margarita, Whiskey Sour and most of Part VIII.See also balance
- SpecStructure
- A drink's written build: each ingredient with its measure, plus glass, ice, method and garnish.
- Speed railTools
- The trough of bottles directly in front of the bartender, holding the pours that make up most of a night, arranged the same way every shift.
- Standard drinkMeasures
- In New Zealand, 10 g of pure alcohol. A 30 ml shot of 40% spirit is about 0.95 of one.
- StirTechnique
- To chill and dilute without aerating, in a mixing glass over cubed ice. Used for drinks made only of spirits, where clarity is part of the point.See also shake, mixing glass
- TwistTechnique
- A strip of citrus peel, pinched skin-side down over the drink so its oil sprays across the surface, then usually dropped in.See also garnish
Alcohol by volume.
Italian for bitter; plural amari.
Latin, roughly "oil sugar".