Glossary

Make the drink directly in the serving glass — add ingredients one at a time over ice. No shaker, no strain.

Used for: Aperol Spritz · Americano · Tequila Sunrise

Mix and lift the drink with a bar spoon through crushed ice.

Used for: Mojito · Mint Julep · Caipirinha

Gently press against fruits or herbs inside the glass to release juice and oils.

Used for: Caipirinha · Cuba Libre · Caipiroska

Pouring an ingredient gently over the surface of a finished drink so it sits on top rather than mixing in. Usually done over the back of a bar spoon. The floated ingredient hits the nose first and the palate last.

Used for: Penicillin · Tequila Sunrise

Squeezing a strip of citrus peel skin-side down over the drink to release its oils across the surface. The oils, not the juice, are the point — it changes the aroma without adding acidity. The peel is then either discarded or dropped in.

Used for: Old Fashioned · Penicillin

Shake all ingredients without ice first to build foam, then add ice and shake again to chill. Skip this and the foam will be thin.

Used for: Amaretto Sour · Whiskey Sour

Shake with cubed ice in a sealed tin until the outside frosts, then pour through a strainer over fresh ice or into a chilled glass.

Used for: Margarita · Cosmopolitan · Piña Colada

Same as shake & strain, but poured through a second fine mesh strainer. Catches ice shards and pulp — gives the cleanest surface on a served-up drink.

Used for: Espresso Martini · Daiquiri · Sidecar

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass over ice and stir with a bar spoon until chilled and diluted. Preserves clarity and keeps spirit-forward drinks silky rather than aerated.

Used for: Negroni · Old Fashioned · Boulevardier

Stir in a mixing glass over ice, then pour through a Hawthorne strainer into a chilled glass, leaving the ice behind.

Used for: Hanky Panky · Manhattan Sweet · Vieux Carré

Stir in a mixing glass over ice, then pour through a Hawthorne strainer and a fine mesh strainer. The second pass removes ice chips for a completely clear, clean pour.

Used for: Dirty Martini · Dry Martini

Bitters/Foamer for cocktails can be diluted with water at a 2:13 ratio (100ml/3.4oz foamer to 650ml/22oz water) for a full 750ml/25.4oz bottle. Once diluted, 5ml of the mix is the standard measure used across any recipe calling for Foamer Dilution. This dissipates the overpowering taste of bitters/foamer.

A seasoning solution made by dissolving Sea Salt Flakes into water at a ratio of 20 grams salt to 100 grams water. Salt suppresses bitterness and makes sweetness and fruit read brighter — the same reason a pinch of salt sharpens caramel or watermelon, without tasting salty itself. Whenever it is included in a cocktail specification, the standard amount is 2 drops.

A long-handled spoon used for stirring, layering and measuring small amounts. Roughly 5ml when used as a measure.

A short, sharp shake from a bitters bottle — roughly 0.8ml, though it varies by bottle. Used where an ingredient is seasoning rather than volume.

A single drop from a dropper or pipette. Smaller and more controlled than a dash, used for concentrated preparations.

Used for: Saline Solution (2 drops standard)

Pouring without a jigger, judged by count or by eye. Faster in service, less consistent than measuring.

Elixir Maven specs are written in millilitres, with an ounce conversion available via the toggle. 1oz is approximately 30ml. Specs are starting points — adjust to taste.

A ratio rather than a fixed amount. A drink built "2 parts spirit, 1 part citrus, 1 part syrup" scales to any glass size as long as the proportions hold.

Built around bitter elements — aperitifs, amari, bitters — where that bitterness is the point rather than a background note.

Used for: Americano · Aperol Spritz · Boulevardier

Approachable and easy-drinking. Fruit-forward, low on bite, the drinks that suit someone who doesn't usually drink cocktails.

Used for: Alexander · Brandy Alexander · Baby Guinness

Clean and bracing, with acidity or dryness cutting through. Less about sugar, more about edge.

Used for: Black Russian · Champagne Cocktail · Bloody Mary

Rich and rounded. Creamy, soft or spirit-forward without harshness — drinks that sip rather than refresh.

Used for: French Connection · Godfather · Godmother

The classic sour structure: spirit, citrus and a sweetener in balance. Tart, bright and the foundation of a large part of the cocktail canon.

Used for: Aviation · Between The Sheets · Amaretto Sour

Dessert-leaning or sugar-forward, where sweetness leads rather than balances.

Used for: Bahama Mama · Bellini · Blue Lagoon

A low-alcohol, usually bitter drink built to be consumed before a meal. Includes bitter aperitivi (Aperol, Campari) and fortified wines (sweet and dry vermouth).

Used for: Americano · Negroni · Aperol Spritz

Highly concentrated botanical extracts used in dashes. Seasoning rather than an ingredient — they adjust and sharpen a drink without contributing meaningful volume.

Used for: Old Fashioned · Manhattan Sweet · Champagne Cocktail

Fresh herbs and roots muddled or churned into a drink — mint, basil, ginger. Distinct from a garnish: a botanical goes in the glass and flavours the drink, a sprig sits on top.

Used for: Mojito · Basil Smash · Penicillin

Fresh lemon or lime juice, providing the acidity that balances sweetness. Almost always fresh — bottled citrus behaves differently.

Used for: Daiquiri · Whiskey Sour · Margarita

An ingredient that creates texture rather than flavour — egg white or an equivalent. Requires a dry shake to build the foam before the drink is shaken with ice.

Used for: Whiskey Sour · Pisco Sour · Amaretto Sour

Non-citrus fruit juices contributing body and sweetness — pineapple, cranberry, orange. Longer and softer than citrus.

Used for: Sea Breeze · Piña Colada · Screwdriver

A sweetened, flavoured spirit. Lower in alcohol than a base spirit and used in smaller measures — it adds a specific flavour rather than forming the backbone.

Used for: Cosmopolitan · Sidecar · Espresso Martini

Thick fruit pulp. Unlike a syrup it contributes body and fruit weight rather than sweetness, so it sits in the drink differently.

Used for: Pornstar Martini · Bellini

The base of the drink — gin, rum, vodka, tequila, whiskey, cognac and their varieties. The ingredient that most defines what a cocktail is.

Sugar dissolved in water, sometimes infused. Provides sweetness and balances acidity. Sugar Syrup is the default; others carry their own flavour alongside the sweetness.

Used for: Daiquiri · Mojito · Tom Collins

An ingredient added last to lengthen a drink — soda, tonic, ginger beer, sparkling wine. No fixed measure: it fills the space left after everything else and the ice.

Used for: Aperol Spritz · Mojito · Dark & Stormy