Aperitif – an alcoholic beverage consumed before a meal as an appetizer.
Bar Spoon – a long mixing spoon which may have a lemon zester or similar tool on the other end.
Bitters – alcohol infused with botanicals, such as herbs and roots, yielding a spirit with a bitter, sour, or bittersweet flavor. Many bitters were originally developed for medicinal purposes,but are now used as digestifs or cocktail flavorings.
Dash – a flick of the wrist to put a very small amount, about 1/32 fl. ounce or 1 mL into a beverage.
Digestif – an alcoholic beverage consumed during or after a meal to aid digestion. Common digestifs are Brandy, fruit brandies, fortified wines, liqueurs and liquor cocktails.
Drachm (drachma, dram) - an eighth of an ounce.
Cocktail – now generally understood to mean any mixed drink, but was originally defined as a beverage containing spirits, sugar, water and bitters.
Float – when one alcohol sits atop another alcohol in a glass without mixing. Instructions will call for the heaviest liqueur or cordial to be poured first. Subsequent liqueurs can be poured very carefully down the side of the glass or poured over an inverted spoon, allowing the alcohol to trickle off the spoon in many directions, or to be laid on with a spoon from another glass.
Gill – equals 4 fluid ounces in the United States or a quarter of a pint or 118 ml.
Highball – Any liqueur mixed with soda, served in a tall glass (the glass itself is often called a highball).
Jigger – 1 1/2 fluid ounces, or 45 ml or 4.5 cl. A jigger can also refer to the double barreled bartender’s tool itself.
Liquor – an alcohol distilled from grains or plants, such as rum, vodka or whiskey and considered by some as a synonym for “spirit”.
Liqueur – a sweet, flavored grain based alcohol made with fruit, herbs, flowers, nuts and/or spices plus sugar.
Muddler – a wooden pestle used to crush (“muddle”) fruit in a glass. Typically used in the preparation of Mojito, Caipirinha and Old Fashioned cocktails. Modern muddlers may be may of stainless steel alone or stainless steel with a rubber end.
Pony or Pony Shot – 1 fluid ounce, or 30 ml or 3 cl.
Shake – To add ingredients, including ice, into the serving glass, then pour everything into a shaker tin and shake. Pour everything back into the original glass.
Splash – About 1/12 fl ounce or 2-3 mL, but can be as generous as the bartender would like.
Strain – To drain the liquid out of a shaker tin through a Strainer.
Tools – Essential bar tools include a cocktail shaker, a jigger, a hawthorne strainer and ice tongs. Optional tools would include a bar spoon, a julep strainer, a muddler, a speed pourer and garnishing tools.
The following recipes will call for various forms of ice in order to present the beverage with the best appearance and flavor.
Cubes – can vary in size from what is produced by a home ice maker to large lump ice. The larger the ice, the slower it melts and the less it dilutes the cocktail. One might also use a custom “ice ball” maker for presentation as may be seen at a local drinkery.
Cracked ice is like a small ice cube, it will melt somewhat to help dilute strong cocktails.
Crushed ice, also known as fine ice, is broken up ice cubes. Very strong drinks are often served with ice crushed to dilute the beverage as it is consumed.
Shaved or “snow” ice is as it sounds, the consistency of snow.
Block ice would be large blocks of ice used in punch recipes, which melt slowly and thus do not dilute the punch.
