ENTERTAINING

Cocktail glossary for amateur mixologists

When entertaining, hosts are sometimes called on to make and serve mixed drinks for guests. Making drinks may seems as simple as throwing a few ingredients into a shaker and pouring the resulting mix into a fancy glass, but authentic cocktail creation requires a little more effort than that. A cursory knowledge of common words and phrases can help you become a master mixologist in no time.

• Bitters: Made from herbs and berries, bitters can add a diverse flavor profile to your cocktails and balance out sweeter drinks.

• Boston shaker: Device used to make shaken drinks and chill them thoroughly.

• Flute: A long, narrow glass used to serve champagne and sparkling wines. The shape of the flute ensures bubbles fizz for as long as possible.

• Collins glass: A tall glass with a heavy base, quite similar to and often interchangeable with a highball glass.

• Dirty: A word typically associated with martinis. Dirty refers to serving the drink with an olive and some vinegarbased brine.

• Dry: Like wine, cocktails can be sweet or dry. Cocktails that are dry tend to include dry vermouth.

• Frosted glasses: Glasses that are kept in the freezer so cocktails can be served very cold. This technique works well for martinis and drinks that include gin, vodka and/or vermouth.

• Highball: A highball is a spirit served on ice with carbonated soda as a mixer.

• Infusion: Spirits that have a special flavoring or ingredient added to them are known as infusions.

• Mixers: Mixers are liquids added to hard drinks. They include fruit juices, sodas and tonic water.

• Neat: In the world of cocktails, “neat” refers to a single spirit or liqueur served on its own without ice, water or any other ingredients.