A-Z Bartending Terms You Should Learn
A-Z Essential Bartending Terms for Every Aspiring Mixologist
Before you begin your bartending career, there are a few things to learn! Don’t worry, we at National Bartending School are here to help you, not overload you with information! That’s why we’ve put together this handy list of bartending terms every bartender needs to know.
- Bar terms starting with A
- Bar terms starting with B
- Bar terms starting with C
- Bar terms starting with D
- Bar terms starting with E
- Bar terms starting with F
- Bar terms starting with G
- Bar terms starting with H
- Bar terms starting with I
- Bar terms starting with J
- Bar terms starting with K
- Bar terms starting with L
- Bar terms starting with M
- Bar terms starting with N
- Bar terms starting with O
- Bar terms starting with P
- Bar terms starting with Q
- Bar terms starting with R
- Bar terms starting with S
- Bar terms starting with T
- Bar terms starting with U
- Bar terms starting with V
- Bar terms starting with W
- Bar terms starting with X
- Bar terms starting with Y
- Bar terms starting with Z
Bar terms starting with “A”
Angel’s Share: The portion of alcohol that evaporates during the aging process.
Aperitif: A low-alcohol beverage consumed before a meal to stimulate the appetite.
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Bar terms starting with “B”
Back: A milder drink, like water or soda, served alongside a stronger one.
Barback: Support staff who assist bartenders by stocking supplies, cleaning glassware, making ice, and more. They often prepare signature cocktail ingredients like infusions and syrups.
Bartender: A person who prepares and serves drinks to customers, often working at a bar, pub, or restaurant, and typically handling various tasks like taking orders, serving food, and maintaining the bar area.
Bitters: An herbal alcoholic blend added to cocktails to enhance flavor.
Blend: Mixing ingredients and ice using an electric blender.
Box: Pouring a drink in and out of a shaker just once without shaking it.
Bruised: Describes a drink shaken too long, resulting in a less appealing appearance.
Build: Making a drink by starting with ice, then adding other ingredients like alcohol and garnishes.
Burnt: Refers to martinis made with Scotch.
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Bar terms starting with “C”
Call Drink: When a customer orders a drink by specifying both the liquor and the mixer, like Tanqueray Ten and Tonic or Bacardi and Coke.
Chaser: A drink taken immediately after a shot to change the taste.
Chill: To cool a glass, fill it with ice and water, let it sit while you mix the drink, then pour out the ice water and strain the drink into the chilled glass. Commonly used for martinis.
Collins Glass: A tall, narrow glass typically used for serving mixed drinks, such as a Tom Collins, holding around 10-14 ounces.
Congeners: Compounds in alcoholic drinks that add flavor but can also cause hangovers.
Cocktail: A mixed drink combining liqueurs with soda or juice, often shaken before serving.
🔥 Recently updated: Top Cocktails Every Bartender Should Know
Cooler: A bottled alcoholic beverage that comes in various flavors and types, such as vodka, rum, or wine coolers like Smirnoff Ice or Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
Collins: A tall drink, typically with seltzer or soda water.
Crusta: A drink served in a glass lined with lemon and orange peels.
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Bar terms starting with “D”
Daisy: A large sour drink, usually made with gin or rum, served over crushed ice and sweetened with fruit syrup.
Dash: A few drops of an ingredient.
Dirty: A drink with a twist in color and taste, often by adding olive juice to a martini.
Double Drink: A drink made with twice the usual amount of alcohol.
Dry: Refers to the addition of a small amount of dry vermouth or gin to achieve a “dry” taste.
Dry Shake: Shaking a drink vigorously without ice, commonly used for cocktails with eggs to ensure proper mixing and texture.
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Bar terms starting with “E”
Eighty-Six: Bar slang used to indicate that a product is out of stock
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Bar terms starting with “F”
Feather: Floating a small amount of alcohol on top of a drink to create a strong initial taste.
Finger: An old measurement term referring to a finger-width amount of alcohol in a rocks glass, roughly equating to two ounces.
Fix: Similar to a Daisy, a drink with crushed ice served in a goblet.
Fizz: A carbonated drink that emits small bubbles.
Flame: Setting a drink on fire before serving, typically for shots.
Flair Bartender: A bartender who entertains guests by performing tricks and acrobatics with bar tools and bottles while making drinks, often in a style known as “flair bartending”.
Flip: A creamy drink made with sugar, eggs, and either spirits or wine.
Float: When one type of alcohol rests atop another in a shooter glass.
Free Pour: Making drinks without using a measured pour spout or jigger.
Frost: Dipping a glass in water, draining it, and freezing it to create an icy layer.
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Bar terms starting with “G”
Garnish: An addition to a drink after mixing to enhance appearance and flavor.
Grog: A drink made with fruit juice, water, and rum, served in a mug.
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Bar terms starting with “H”
Highball: Liquor mixed with soda and served in a tall glass.
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Bar terms starting with “I”
Ice Well: A metal container located behind the bar that holds ice for drink preparation. It typically has a Speed Rail attached for easy access to commonly used liquors.
Irish Coffee: A warm cocktail made with hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, and topped with a layer of lightly whipped cream.
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Bar terms starting with “J”
Jigger: A double-sided tool for measuring drinks, with one side measuring 1½ ounces and the other side measuring 1 ounce.
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Bar terms starting with “K”
Kirsch: A dry, colorless brandy distilled from the fermented juice of black morello cherries.
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Bar terms starting with “L”
Lace: The last ingredient added to a drink, usually poured on top.
Last Call: The final opportunity to order a drink before the bar closes for the night.
Lock-In: A tradition where staff and select regulars stay and drink in the bar after closing, without other customers present, signifying high customer appreciation.
Lowball: A drink with water, soda, spirit, and ice, served in a small glass.
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Bar terms starting with “M”
Martini: Traditionally made with gin, vermouth, and sometimes bitters. It’s now often used to describe any cocktail served in a V-shaped martini glass.
Mixers: Non-alcoholic beverages like juice, that are combined with alcohol to create a cocktail.
🔍 Did you know that mixing alcohol with juice makes it weaker? Mixing alcohol with juice dilutes the alcohol content, making the overall drink less potent by volume. However, the actual amount of alcohol you consume remains the same if the quantity of alcohol added remains unchanged.
Mixologist: A professional skilled in creating, mixing, and inventing cocktails, often focusing on the artistry and science of drink-making.
Muddle: Crushing ingredients with a muddler, often done for drinks like Mojitos.
Mulls: A warm, spiced drink made with beer, wine, or liquor.
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Bar terms starting with “N”
Neat: A shot of liquor served without ice or mixers.
Nightcap: A drink enjoyed at the end of the night.
Nip: A small bottle of alcohol, typically a quarter of a regular bottle.
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Bar terms starting with “O”
Old Fashioned: A classic cocktail made with bourbon or rye whiskey, sugar, bitters, and a twist of citrus rind, usually served over ice in a rocks glass and garnished with an orange slice or cherry.
On the Rocks: Drinks served over ice.
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Bar terms starting with “P”
Pick-Me-Up: A drink designed to alleviate the effects of overindulgence in alcohol.
Piña Colada: A tropical cocktail made with rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice, often blended with ice and garnished with a pineapple slice and cherry.
Pony: A shot measuring 1 ounce.
Premium: High-quality, top-shelf alcohol.
Punch: A party drink made with fruit juices, sweeteners, flavorings, soft drinks, and wine or liquor.
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Bar terms starting with “Q”
Quinine: An old term for tonic water, originally used for medicinal purposes in the 1800s. This gave rise to the nickname “Doctor’s tonic”.
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Bar terms starting with “R”
Rim: Coating the rim of a glass with lime and pressing it into salt or sugar.
Rocks Glass: A short, round tumbler, also used for neat pours, making it ideal for serving spirits over ice or without ice.
Roll: Mixing ingredients by repeatedly pouring from one container to another.
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Bar terms starting with “S”
Sangria: A cocktail made with triple sec, orange, and wine.
Shake and Strain: Shaking ingredients and ice in a shaker tin, then straining the liquid into a glass.
Shaken: A method of mixing a drink by shaking it with ice in a shaker tin to chill and blend the ingredients.
Shaker Tin: A metal tool used to mix cocktails.
Shooter: A shot of mixed alcohol or straight liquor intended to be consumed in one gulp.
Shot: A small glass of alcohol, intended to be drunk quickly.
🔍 Did you know a shot typically contains 1.5 ounces of alcohol? This standard measurement is used for most spirits in cocktails and straight servings.
Sling: A tall drink made with gin or whiskey, sugar, soda water, and lemon juice, served hot or cold.
Snapping: An inappropriate way to signal a bartender, which should always be avoided.
Sour: Refers to the tartness from sour bar mix, lime bar mix, or margarita mix used in cocktails. A Vodka Sour, for example, combines vodka and bar lime mix.
Speed Rail: A stainless steel shelf attached to the bartender station, holding the most commonly ordered liquors like rum, vodka, gin, and whiskey.
Stir: A primary method of mixing and chilling a drink, usually preferred for spirit-only cocktails without fruit or citrus juices to ensure controlled dilution and less agitation.
Straight Up: A drink shaken with ice and then strained into a glass.
Syllabub: A sweetened milk drink with spices and wine.
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Bar terms starting with “T”
Tall: A drink served in a larger glass, typically with more mixer and the same amount of alcohol as a standard drink.
Toddy: A warm drink made with liquor, spices, and water, served in a tall glass.
Top Shelf: A term implying higher-quality liquor, though in practice, bars organize shelves by function and frequency of use rather than price.
Tot: A small measure of liquor.
Twist: A thin, long strip of lemon rind, peeled using a zester, used as a garnish.
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Bar terms starting with “U”
Ultra-Premium: A marketing term that doesn’t necessarily reflect the actual quality of the spirit in the bottle.
Up: A drink that is chilled by shaking or stirring with ice, then strained and served in a glass without ice.
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Bar terms starting with “V”
Virgin: A non-alcoholic drink.
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Bar terms starting with “W”
Well Drink: Unlike a Call Drink, this is a drink where the specific brands of liquor and mixer aren’t specified, like a generic Gin & Tonic or Rum & Coke.
White Russian: A creamy cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueur (like Kahlúa), and cream or milk, typically served over ice in a rocks glass.
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Bar terms starting with “X”
Xanthan Gum: A thickening and stabilizing agent used to create smooth textures, stabilize foams, and suspend ingredients in cocktails.
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Bar terms starting with “Y”
Yeast: Single-cell organisms that convert sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, essential in the fermentation process for making alcoholic beverages.
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Bar terms starting with “Z”
Zest: The outer layers of fruit peels that contain essential oils, used to add aromatic flavors to drinks and dishes.
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Ready to Shake Things Up?
Now that you’ve got a handle on these essential bartending terms, you’re all set to dive into the world of mixology! Reach out to one of our local bartending schools today to learn about affordable and convenient certification programs. Start your journey towards becoming a professional bartender and master the art of crafting unforgettable drinks!
