Bar Terms Glossary

A long, twisted-handle spoon used for stirring drinks in a mixing glass and for pouring slow, controlled floats and layers over its back.

Pre-mixing multiple servings' worth of a drink's spirits and non-perishable ingredients in advance to speed up service during a rush, with fresh components like citrus juice or ice added at the moment of order.

Assembling a drink directly in the glass it will be served in, usually over ice, without shaking or stirring it separately first. Simple highballs like a Rye & Ginger are built.

A drink where the guest asks for a specific brand of spirit by name — "Tito's and soda" — rather than accepting the bar's well default.

A shallow, broad-bowled stemmed glass traditionally used for cocktails served up, like a Daiquiri or Espresso Martini.

A quick, brief shake of a bottle — most often bitters. A small, imprecise amount, typically a handful of drops depending on the bottle's own dasher top.

Straining a drink through both the shaker's built-in strainer (a Hawthorne strainer) and a second fine-mesh strainer held over the glass at the same time. Catches small ice shards, muddled fruit pulp, or herb fragments that a single strain lets through, giving a cleaner, silkier pour. To perform it: hold the fine strainer in one hand just above the glass, pour the shaken drink through the shaker's Hawthorne strainer into the fine strainer, and let it filter through into the glass. Common on shaken drinks with muddled fruit, fresh herbs like mint or basil, or egg white.

Shaking ingredients — usually egg white or dairy — without ice first, to emulsify and build texture and foam, then shaking again with ice to chill. Skipping the dry shake is why some egg-white sours come out thin instead of silky.

Releasing a citrus peel's aromatic oils onto a drink. Hold the peel skin-side down over the glass and give it a firm pinch or twist so the oils spray across the surface, then usually rub the peel around the rim of the glass before dropping it in or discarding it.

Passing a drink through a small fine-mesh strainer on its own (not paired with a Hawthorne strainer) to remove tiny particles before serving.

Briefly igniting the oils of a freshly expressed citrus peel (or a small amount of high-proof spirit) over a drink for a burst of aroma and a visual effect at the table. Needs a steady hand and a lighter held close to the peel as it's expressed.

Carefully pouring a small amount of a liqueur or spirit on top of a finished drink so it sits as a distinct layer on the surface rather than mixing in. Usually poured slowly over the back of a bar spoon to break the fall of the liquid.

A flat metal strainer with a coiled spring around its edge that fits inside a shaker tin, holding back ice and solids while the drink is poured out.

A tall glass used for drinks built with a larger proportion of mixer to spirit, served over ice — a Rye & Ginger or Gin & Tonic is served in a highball.

A small hourglass-shaped measuring tool with two different-sized cups on either end, used to measure precise pours instead of free-pouring.

A perforated, spoon-shaped strainer used with a mixing glass for stirred drinks, as opposed to the Hawthorne strainer used with a shaker tin.

Building a drink in distinct visible stripes by pouring ingredients in order of density — heaviest and most sugar-heavy on the bottom — each poured slowly over the back of a bar spoon so it doesn't mix with the layer below. Classic in shots like a B-52.

Gently pressing and twisting ingredients — herbs, fruit, sugar — in the bottom of a glass or shaker with a muddler to release their oils and juices before adding the rest of the drink. Muddling mint too hard bruises it and turns the drink bitter; the goal is releasing oils, not pulverizing the leaves.

A blunt tool, usually wood or plastic, used to muddle fruit, herbs, or sugar in the bottom of a glass or shaker.

A spirit served with no ice and no mixer, at room temperature, straight from the bottle into the glass.

A drink served over ice cubes in the glass, whether it's a spirit poured neat-over-ice or a shaken/stirred drink strained over fresh ice.

A measure of a spirit's alcohol content. In the US, proof is double the ABV percentage — an 80-proof bottle is 40% alcohol by volume.

Coating the outer edge of a glass with salt, sugar, or another dry garnish. Wet the rim first — usually by running a citrus wedge around it — then dip the glass in the salt or sugar, often rimming only half the glass so the drinker can choose.

Coating the inside of a glass with a small amount of a strong spirit (often absinthe), swirling it around, and discarding the excess — leaving just a faint aroma and flavor behind rather than a full pour. Used in drinks like a Sazerac.

Combining ingredients with ice in a shaker and shaking vigorously to chill, dilute, and aerate the drink. Used for drinks with citrus, dairy, egg white, or other ingredients that need thorough integration — a Whiskey Sour or Daiquiri is shaken, never stirred.

A small, imprecise pour of a mixer or juice — more than a dash, but not a measured amount. Used on menus when an exact quantity isn't critical to the drink.

Combining ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and stirring with a bar spoon to chill and dilute without adding air bubbles. Used for spirit-forward drinks like a Martini or Manhattan, keeping them silky and clear rather than cloudy — shaking one of these is considered a mistake, not a style choice.

Pouring a shaken or stirred drink through a strainer into the serving glass, leaving the ice and any solids behind.

The row of house-pour bottles kept within immediate arm's reach of the bartender at the well — the most-used spirits, positioned for the fastest possible pour during a busy service. Where the site gets its name.

Filling the rest of the glass with a mixer — soda water, tonic, ginger beer — after the base ingredients are already built, usually without stirring the topper in so it stays lightly carbonated.

A drink that's shaken or stirred with ice to chill and dilute it, then strained into a stemmed glass with no ice in the final serve — a Martini served "up" versus "on the rocks" is the same drink, served two different ways.

A basic mixed drink made with the bar's standard house-pour spirits from the speed rail, rather than a specific requested brand — a "vodka soda" with no brand named is a well drink.