Cocktail menu terms: neat, up, on the rocks and the rest

How it's served

• Neat: a spirit on its own at room temperature. No ice, no mixer.
• On the rocks: poured over ice, usually in a rocks glass.
• Up: shaken or stirred with ice, then strained into a stemmed glass with no ice.
• Straight up: usually the same as up. Some people say it when they mean neat, so say "up" or "neat" if it matters.
• Mist: poured over crushed ice.
• With a twist: with a strip of citrus peel.

Martini words

• Dry: less vermouth. Extra dry or bone dry means very little or none.
• Wet: more vermouth.
• Dirty: with olive brine. The Dirty Martini here takes ½ oz.
• Perfect: the vermouth is split evenly between sweet and dry. The word is about the measure. A Perfect Manhattan is a little less sweet than a Manhattan.
• Gibson: a Martini with a cocktail onion in place of the olive.
• Fifty-Fifty: equal parts gin and dry vermouth.

How it's made

• Shaken: with ice in a shaker. Drinks with citrus juice are shaken, which gives them a lighter, frothy texture.
• Stirred: with ice in a mixing glass, for a silkier drink. Spirit-led drinks such as the Martini and the Manhattan are stirred. Shaken or stirred has the rule.
• Built: made in the glass it's served in, like an Americano.
• Muddled: fruit or herbs pressed in the glass first, as in a Mojito.
• Rinse: the glass is coated with a little of a strong spirit, which is then poured out. A Sazerac gets an absinthe rinse.

Strength and style

• Spirit-forward: a stirred drink that is mostly spirit, like a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned.
• Stiff: with a larger share of spirit.
• Low-proof: built on sherry, vermouth or sparkling wine, like the Bamboo.
• Long: a tall drink topped with soda, tonic or ginger beer, like a Paloma.
• Sour: spirit, citrus juice and something sweet, like a Daiquiri.
• Virgin: made without alcohol.
• Well: made with the bar's house spirits.

What to say with them

A term narrows the menu. A drink you already like narrows it further. What to order at a cocktail bar and what to say to a bartender pick up from here.

Or photograph the menu

Take a photo of the menu in Stirred Art and the drinks closest to your taste come first, each with a line on why: "bitter and boozy, like your top drinks". It works offline, which helps in a basement bar.

Updated 11 November 2026.