Technique

• Batching Pre-mixing a cocktail in large volume so it can be served quickly, typically for hosting or events. Also covers: Welcome Drink, Signature Cocktail
• Build To assemble a drink directly in the glass it will be served in, adding each ingredient in sequence. Also covers: Built Cocktail, Dirty Dump
• Dilution The water added to a cocktail through melting ice during mixing — a fundamental and intentional part of any well-made drink.
• Double Strain Straining a shaken cocktail through both a Hawthorne strainer and a fine mesh strainer to remove ice chips and pulp. Also covers: Fine Strain
• Dry Shake Shaking a cocktail without ice first to build foam from egg white or aquafaba before chilling. Also covers: Reverse Dry Shake
• Expressing Citrus Squeezing or twisting citrus peel over a drink to release the essential oils from the skin onto the surface. Also covers: Twist, Zest, Citrus Coin
• Float Gently pouring a liquid over the back of a spoon so it rests on top of a drink without sinking. Also covers: Layering
• Garnish The finishing element on a cocktail — a visual, aromatic, or flavor addition placed on or in the glass just before serving. Also covers: Salt Rim / Sugar Rim, Edible Flowers, Luxardo Cherry, Citrus Garnishes, Dehydrated Citrus, Herb Garnishes, Cucumber Ribbon, Wash / Rinse, Mise en Place
• Muddle Pressing fruit, herbs, or sugar in the bottom of a glass or shaker to extract juice, oils, and flavor before adding other ingredients.
• Roll Pouring a drink back and forth between two vessels to mix and aerate without the agitation of shaking. Also covers: Throwing
• Shaken A mixing method that chills, dilutes, and aerates a drink simultaneously by sealing it in a shaker with ice and shaking vigorously.
• Stirred A mixing method that chills and dilutes a drink with minimal aeration by stirring it with ice in a mixing glass.
• Swizzle A mixing method using a swizzle stick or bar spoon rotated rapidly between the palms to chill and integrate a drink built over crushed ice.

Ingredients

• Amaro An Italian bittersweet herbal liqueur, used as a modifier, digestif, or base in cocktails ranging from the Negroni to the Paper Plane. Also covers: Aperitif, Digestif, Aperitivo
• Aquafaba The liquid from canned chickpeas, used as a plant-based substitute for egg white to create foam in cocktails.
• Bitters Concentrated flavor extracts made by macerating botanicals, herbs, or spices in high-proof alcohol — used by the dash to season cocktails. Also covers: Aromatic Bitters, Orange Bitters, NA Bitters
• Ginger Beer A carbonated, spiced soft drink made with real ginger — spicier and more complex than ginger ale, and essential to the Moscow Mule and Dark and Stormy. Also covers: Tonic Water, Club Soda, Sparkling Water / Seltzer
• Grenadine A sweet, deep-red syrup made from pomegranate juice and sugar, used for sweetness, color, and a tart fruit note.
• Oleosaccharum A syrup made by combining citrus peels with sugar, which draws out the essential oils over time into a rich, intensely aromatic liquid.
• Orgeat A sweet almond syrup with orange flower water, used as a primary sweetener and flavor component in tiki cocktails.
• Shrub A drinking vinegar made by combining fruit, sugar, and vinegar — sweet, tart, and complex in a way citrus juice alone can't replicate.
• Simple Syrup A solution of sugar dissolved in water, used to add sweetness and body to cocktails without the graininess of undissolved sugar. Also covers: Rich Simple Syrup, Demerara Syrup, Honey Syrup, Agave Nectar
• Vermouth A fortified, aromatized wine used as a modifier in classic cocktails — dry in Martinis, sweet in Manhattans and Negronis.

Ice

• Clear Ice Ice made without the trapped air and impurities that cause standard freezer ice to appear cloudy — harder, slower-melting, and visually striking. Also covers: Large Cube / King Cube, Sphere Ice
• Crushed Ice Finely broken ice used in swizzled drinks, Juleps, and tiki cocktails — it dilutes faster and creates a distinct frosted texture. Also covers: Pebble Ice

Tools

• Bar Spoon A long-handled spoon used for stirring cocktails, layering drinks, and measuring small amounts — typically 30 cm with a twisted handle.
• Channel Knife A small tool with a notched blade that cuts a thin, curling strip of citrus peel for use as a garnish. Also covers: Y-Peeler
• Cocktail Shaker The vessel used to shake cocktails with ice — available in several styles, each with different strengths. Also covers: Boston Shaker, Cobbler Shaker, French Shaker
• Dasher Bottle A small bottle fitted with a controlled-flow dasher top, used to dispense bitters or other concentrated liquids precisely by the dash. Also covers: Dropper Bottle, Atomizer
• Hawthorne Strainer A spring-coiled strainer that fits over a shaker tin to catch ice while pouring a shaken cocktail. Also covers: Julep Strainer, Fine Mesh Strainer
• Jigger A small measuring tool used to accurately portion liquid ingredients when building a cocktail.
• Lewis Bag A canvas bag used to crush ice by pounding it with a mallet — the traditional method for making crushed ice.
• Mixing Glass A heavy glass vessel used for stirring cocktails with ice — designed for efficient chilling and smooth pouring.
• Muddler A blunt pestle used to press fruit, herbs, or sugar in the bottom of a glass or shaker to extract flavor.

Spirits & AF Spirits

• Alcohol-Free Aperitif A non-alcoholic alternative to bitter aperitivo spirits like Campari or Aperol, used in Negronis, Spritzes, and similar formats. Also covers: Alcohol-Free Vermouth
• Alcohol-Free Gin A non-alcoholic botanical spirit designed to replicate the juniper and botanical character of gin.
• Alcohol-Free Whiskey A non-alcoholic spirit designed to replicate the oak, vanilla, and grain character of whiskey. Also covers: Alcohol-Free Rum, Alcohol-Free Tequila

Flavor & Sensory

• Acidity The bright, sharp quality in a cocktail that comes from citrus juice or other acidic ingredients — one of the four pillars of cocktail balance. Also covers: Acid Adjustment
• Aroma The smell of a cocktail — the first sensory impression and a primary contributor to how we experience flavor. Also covers: Nose, Volatile Aromatics
• Balance The relationship between the core taste elements in a cocktail — sweet, sour, bitter, and spirit — when they support rather than overpower each other. Also covers: Structure, Body, Finish, Length
• Bitterness A flavor element that adds complexity and depth to cocktails — contributed by bitters, tonic water, citrus peel, amaro, and coffee. Also covers: Tannin, Astringency
• Mouthfeel The physical sensation of a cocktail in the mouth — its texture, weight, and carbonation — separate from its flavor. Also covers: Viscosity

Cocktail Science

• Carbonation The presence of dissolved CO₂ in a liquid, creating bubbles — a key textural element in highballs, spritzes, and long drinks.
• Fat Washing A technique for infusing a spirit or syrup with fat-soluble flavors by combining it with a fat, then freezing and filtering out the solidified fat.
• Infusion The process of steeping an ingredient in a liquid to transfer its flavor — the mechanism behind flavored syrups, tea, and many craft cocktail components. Also covers: Maceration, Extraction, Sous Vide Infusion
• Milk Punch A clarification technique where milk proteins are used to remove color, tannins, and impurities from a cocktail, producing a crystal-clear, silky liquid. Also covers: Clarification

Cocktail Families

• Flip A rich, creamy cocktail made with a whole egg (or egg substitute), spirit, and sweetener — the template for eggnog and port wine flips.
• Highball A two-ingredient long drink of spirit and a carbonated mixer served over ice in a tall glass — one of the most refreshing and underrated cocktail formats. Also covers: Collins, Fizz, Rickey
• Julep A spirit-forward drink built over crushed ice with muddled mint and sugar — the original Southern American cocktail and a study in cold, aroma, and simplicity.
• Negroni A three-ingredient stirred cocktail of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari in equal parts — one of the most influential and adaptable cocktail templates.
• Old Fashioned One of the oldest cocktail templates: spirit, sweetener, bitters, and ice — nothing more, nothing less.
• Punch A large-format, multi-serving drink traditionally built from five elements: spirit, citrus, sweetener, water, and spice.
• Sour One of the fundamental cocktail templates: a base spirit, citrus juice, and a sweetener — the framework for Daiquiris, Margaritas, Whiskey Sours, and hundreds of variations. Also covers: Daisy, Smash

Glassware

• Coupe A wide, shallow stemmed glass — the classic vessel for cocktails served "up" without ice. Also covers: Nick & Nora, Martini Glass
• Highball Glass A tall, narrow tumbler for long drinks and carbonated cocktails — the standard glass for Highballs, Collins, and Mojitos. Also covers: Collins Glass, Copper Mug
• Rocks Glass A short, wide tumbler used for spirit-forward cocktails served over ice — also called an Old Fashioned glass. Also covers: Double Rocks

Terminology

• ABV Alcohol by volume, the standard measure of how much alcohol a drink contains, written as a percentage. Also covers: Proof
• AF Bottle Shop A retail shop, physical or online, that specializes entirely in alcohol-free drinks.
• Dry January The annual campaign in which people give up alcohol for the month of January.
• Low- and No-Alcohol The umbrella name the drinks industry uses for the whole category of reduced- and zero-alcohol products.
• Mindful Drinking The practice of paying deliberate attention to when, why, and how much you drink, rather than doing it on autopilot.
• Prohibition The period from 1920 to 1933 when the sale of alcohol was banned in the United States, a defining chapter in cocktail history.
• RTD (Ready-to-Drink) A pre-mixed, packaged drink meant to be opened and consumed without any preparation.
• Sober Curious A way of describing people who question their relationship with alcohol without necessarily giving it up entirely.
• Spirit-Free A cocktail-world synonym for alcohol-free, framing the drink by craft rather than by absence.
• Zero Proof A term for drinks with no measurable alcohol content — used interchangeably with alcohol-free, non-alcoholic, and AF. Also covers: Alcohol-Free, Non-Alcoholic, Mocktail, Virgin Cocktail, Low ABV, Session Drink