When a cocktail recipe asks for you to 'blend with ice', place ingredients and ice into a blender and blend until a smooth, even consistency is achieved. Ideally you should use crushed ice, as this lessens wear on the blenders' blades. Place liquid ingredients in the blender first, adding the ice last, as always. If you have a variable speed blender, always start slowly and build up speed.

The term ignite, flame or flambÉ means that the drink should be set alight. Please exercise extreme care when setting fire to drinks. Be particularly careful not to knock over a lit drink and never attempt to carry a drink which is still alight. Before drinking, cover the glass so as to suffocate the flame and be aware that the rim of the glass may be hot.

Garnishes are used to decorate cocktails and are often anchored to the rim of the glass. Strictly speaking, garnishes should be edible. Anything from banana chunks, strawberries or redcurrants to coffee beans, confectionery, basil leaves and slices of fresh ginger can be used as a garnish. The correct garnish will often enhance the aroma and flavour as well as the look of a drink.
Fruit should be unblemished and washed prior to use. Olives, in particular, should be washed thoroughly to prevent oil from spoiling the appearance of a drink. Cut citrus fruits have a maximum shelf life of 24 hours when refrigerated. Cherries and olives should be stored refrigerated and left in their own juices.

Glassware should be clean and free from chips and marks such as lipstick. Always handle glasses by the base or the stem to avoid leaving finger marks and never put your fingers inside a glass. Ideally glassware should be chilled in a freezer prior to use. This is particularly important for martini and flute glasses, in which drinks are usually served without ice. It takes about half an hour to sufficiently chill a glass in the freezer. If time is short, you can chill a glass by filling it with ice (ideally crushed, not cubed) and topping it up with water. Leave the glass to cool while you prepare the drink, then discard the ice and water once you are ready to pour. This method is quicker than chilling in the freezer but not nearly so effective. To warm a glass ready for a hot cocktail, place a bar spoon in the glass and fill it with hot water. Then discard the water and pour in the drink. Only then should you remove the spoon, which is there to help disperse the shock of the heat.

As the name would suggest, layered drinks include layers of different ingredients, often with contrasting colours. This effect is achieved by carefully pouring each ingredient into the glass so that it floats on its predecessor.
The success of this technique is dependent on the density (specific gravity) of the liquids used. As a rule of thumb, the less alcohol and the more sugar an ingredient contains, the heavier it is. The heaviest ingredients should be poured first and the lightest last. Syrups are non-alcoholic and contain a lot of sugar so are usually the heaviest ingredient. Liqueurs, which are high in sugar and lower in alcohol than spirits, are generally the next heaviest ingredient. The exception to this rule is cream and cream liqueurs, which can float.
One brand of a particular liqueur may be heavier or lighter than another. The relative temperatures of ingredients may also affect their ability to float or sink. Hence a degree of experimentation is inevitable when creating layered drinks.
Layering can be achieved in one of two ways. The first involves pouring down the spiral handle of a bar spoon, keeping the flat, disc-shaped end of the spoon over the surface of the drink. Alternatively you can hold the bowl end of a bar spoon (or a soup spoon) in contact with the side of the glass and over the surface of the drink and pour slowly over it.

Muddling means pummelling fruits, herbs and/or spices with a muddler (a blunt tool similar to a pestle) so as to crush them and release their flavour. (You can also use a rolling pin.) As when using a pestle and mortar, push down on the muddler with a twisting action.
Only attempt to muddle in the base of a shaker or a suitably sturdy glass. Never attempt to muddle hard, unripe fruits in a glass as the pressure required could break the glass, which could cut your hand which would hurt.

When you see the phrase "shake with ice and strain" or similar in a method, you should place all the necessary ingredients with cubed ice in a cocktail shaker and shake briskly (in the same manner you might agitate the metal ball in a can of spray-paint) for around fifteen seconds. Then you should strain the liquid into the glass, leaving the ice behind in the shaker.
Shaking not only mixes a drink, it also chills, dilutes and aerates it. The dilution achieved by shaking is just as important to the resulting cocktail as using the right proportions of each ingredient. If you use too little ice it will quickly melt in the shaker, producing an over-diluted drink - so always fill your shaker at least two-thirds full with fresh ice.
Losing your grip while shaking is likely to make a mess and could result in injury, so always hold the shaker firmly with two hands and never shake fizzy ingredients (unless in a minute proportion to rest of drink).

If a cocktail recipe calls for you to 'stir with ice and strain' then you should stir in a mixing glass using a bar spoon with a long, spiralling stem. If a specially designed lipped mixing glass is not available, one half of a Boston shaker, or the base of a standard shaker, will suffice.
Combine the ingredients in the mixing glass, adding the ice last. Slide the back of the spoon down the inside of the mixing glass and stir the drink. You should stir a drink for at least 20 seconds, then strain into a glass using a strainer (or the top of a standard shaker if you are using a standard shaker base in place of a mixing glass).

To ‘swizzle’ a drink is simply to stir it using a particular tool and action. This style of drink mixing originated in the Caribbean and originally a twig with a few forked branches was used. Today ‘swizzle sticks’ are usually made of metal or plastic and have several blades or fingers attached to the base at right angles to the shaft.
To sizzle simply immerse the blades of your swizzle stick into the drink, hold the shaft between the palms of both hands and rotate the stick rapidly by sliding your hands back and forth against it. If you do not have a bona fide swizzle stick, use a barspoon in the same manner.

Professional photographer's equipment bags are perfect for storing and carrying bar equipment. A good example is Tamrac which features padded sections designed to house lenses but are deep enough to accommodate shakers, mixing glasses and glassware. Not all are, be sure to buy a bag with extra deep lens sections. Also look for a bag with an abundance of front and side pockets, designed for holding films and other paraphernalia as these snugly house bar spoons, measures, strainers and smaller bar tools.

By definition, any drink that is described as a cocktail contains more than one ingredient. So if you are going to make cocktails you have to know how to combine these various liquids. Firstly, as in cooking, there is a correct order in which to prepare things and with few exceptions, which runs as follows:

1. Select glass and chill or pre-heat (if required)
2. Prepare garnish (if required)
3. Pour ingredients
4. Add ice (if required - add last to minimise melt)
5. Combine ingredients (shake, stir etc.)
6. Add garnish (if required)
7. Consume or serve to guest

Essentially, there are four different ways to mix a cocktail: shake, stir, blend and build. (Building a drink means combining the ingredients in the glass in which the cocktail will be served.) A fifth mixing method known as 'rolling' is not that frequently employed but offers the bartender a more gentle mixing method than shaking but more thorough than stirring. A further construction method, 'layering', isn't strictly mixing. The idea here is to float each ingredient on its predecessor without the ingredients merging at all. At the heart of every cocktail lies at least one of these five methods. So understanding these terms is fundamental.

You'll need a blender for all those Frozen Daiquiris so choose one with a large capacity and a powerful motor. While you're at it you may as well have one that's also easy on the eye and pir beautiful brushed chrome model by Kitchen Aid is certainly that.

A canal knife is an aptly named tool which when dragged across the skin of a citrus fruit will remove string of zest leaving a canal in the fruit's skin.

A citrus zester enables the easy cutting of thin, pith-free strips of citrus peel and at the same time releases natural aromatic oils from the skin. Zesters usually have five tiny cutting holes in their cutting edge which, when pulled across the surface of a citrus fruit cut threadlike strips of peel.

Though we would love to claim to use a Chateau Laguiole Master Sommelier (pronounced 'Shato Layol') like so many others we just use cheap Waiter's Friends, which double as corkscrew and bottle opener.

It is common practice amongst some bartenders to first shake drinks containing cream and eggs without ice, then to shake the drink a second time with ice added. This practice is known as 'dry shaking' and the theory is that first shaking without ice, and so at a higher temperature, better allows the drink to emulsify. If you are going to do this we recommend placing a spring from a strainer in the shaker during the first 'dry shake' as this acts as a whisk when the drink is shaken.

The following is a comprehensive list of bar equipment. Please click each item within this drop-down list for information: Bar Bag, Shaker, Mixing Glass, Muddler, Barspoon, Sprung Strainer, Mixing Strainer, Measure, Fine Strainer, Swivel Peeler, Paring Knife, Juicer, Bar Blender, Citrus Zester, Canal Knife, Cork Screw, Ice Scoop, Powder Shaker and Nutmeg Grater.

Most cocktails that are served 'straight up' without ice benefit from an additional finer strain, over and above the standard strain which keeps ice cubes out of the drink. This 'fine strain' removes small fragments of fruit and fine flecks of ice which can spoil the appearance of a drink and is particularly beneficial if the drink has been shaken rather than stirred (or rolled). Fine straining is achieved by simply holding a fine sieve, like a tea strainer, between the shaker and the glass. Another popular term for this method is 'double strain'.

The challenge with fine strainers is to find one that is not so fine that liquid takes ages to flow through but that also has sufficient capacity to hold a decent volume. Fresh Strawberry Martinis tend to quickly clog most strainers.

The term 'float' refers to layering the final ingredient on top of a cocktail.

Some cocktails are served with a foam float, the aroma and flavour of which usually contrasts with that of the drink beneath, so adding complexity. This foam is usually dispensed from a cream-whipping siphon. Gelatine or egg white is added to the flavoured mixture so when the siphon is charged with nitrous oxide - foam is produced. Popular base ingredients include cold tea and fruit juice but the foam can be made using pretty much any liquid provided that it is not oily. Both the ingredients and the charged siphon should be stored in a refrigerator as the colder the foam, the thicker it will be when discharged and the longer it will last on the drink.
Nitrous oxide (N₂O), the key to these foams, is commonly known as laughing gas and is a colourless non-flammable gas with a pleasant, slightly sweet smell. Its nickname refers to the stimulating effects of inhaling it, which include spontaneous laughter, slight hallucinations and an analgesic effect. It is used in motorsport to boost power (nitrous oxide kit), and in surgery and dentistry as an analgesic. A 50/50 mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen ('gas and air') is commonly used during childbirth. Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas and you add to its global warming effect when opening a bag of potato chips as the gas is used to displace staleness-inducing oxygen in snack food packaging.
WARNING - Inhaling nitrous oxide directly from a whipped cream charger or tank poses very serious health risks. These include potential lung collapse due to the high pressure and frostbite since the gas is very cold when released. We’re not suggesting you try this, but most recreational nitrous oxide users discharge the gas into a balloon before inhaling. Nitrous oxide can also cause mild nausea or dizziness and is unsafe to inhale while standing, as you are likely to fall over. It should also be noted that the possession of and recreational use of nitrous oxide is a criminal offence in much of the US and other areas of the world.

Frozen cocktails are blended with crushed ice. The ingredients are poured into an electric blender with an appropriate amount of crushed ice and then blended until a smooth, almost slushy consistency is achieved. Frozen drinks are usually served heaped in large martini glasses and should always be served with straws.
Practically any sour type drink can be adapted to be served frozen but the Frozen Daiquiri and Frozen Margarita are by far the best known examples. When adapting recipes be aware that drinks served frozen usually require more sugar than when served straight-up or on-the-rocks. Cocktails containing egg or cream do not usually make good frozen drinks.

We'd be the first to admit that some of the recipes on this site are better than others and so we have graded cocktails on a scale of one to five and discreetly indicated this score by dots above each drink's name. The more dots, the more we like it.

Half & Half is a blend of 50% milk and 50% cream and is relatively unknown in the UK so we have listed milk and cream as separate ingredients.

Many bartenders dilute honey with hot water to make it easier to mix. Some mix to equal parts but we find that a 4 parts runny honey to 1 part water mix is enough to liquefy the honey sufficiently to use. To do this simply empty a fifth of the honey from your jar or bottle (spread on your toast) and replace with moderately hot water. Reseal and shake. This extra dilution should enable your honey to be stored in the refrigerator.
If you don't want to dilute precious honey stocks then dissolve it by stirring it into the cocktail's base spirit prior to adding the other ingredients.
We favour a good quality runny orange blossom honey for general bar use and find those packaged in squeezy plastic bottles with a fine nozzle easiest to dispense.

A plentiful supply of fresh ice is essential to making good cocktails. When buying bagged ice avoid the hollow, tubular kind and the thin wafers. Instead look for large, solid cubes of ice. We recommend Kold Draft or Hoshizaki ice machines producing large (inch/25mm square) solid cubes.
When filling ice cube trays, use bottled or filtered water to avoid the taste of chlorine often apparent in municipal water supplies. Your ice should be dry, almost sticky to the touch. Avoid 'wet' ice that has started to thaw.
Whenever serving a drink over ice, always fill the glass with ice, rather than just adding a few cubes. This not only makes the drink much colder, but the ice lasts longer and so does not dilute into the drink.
Never use ice in a cocktail shaker twice, even if it's to mix the same drink as before. You should always throw away ice after straining the drink and use fresh ice to fill the glass if so required. Not straining shaken ice and pouring it straight into the glass with the liquid will result in an overly diluted drink which will not be as cold as one where the drink is strained over fresh ice.
Unless otherwise stated, all references to ice in this guide mean cubed ice. If crushed ice is required for a particular recipe, the recipe will state 'crushed ice'. This is available commercially. Alternatively you can crush cubed ice in an ice-crusher or simply bash a bag or tea towel of cubed ice with a rolling pin.
If a glass is broken near your ice stocks, melt the ice with warm water, clean the container and re-stock with fresh ice. If this occurs in a busy bar and you are not immediately able to clean the ice chest, mark it as being contaminated with a liberal coating of red grenadine syrup and draw ice from another station.

We use three ice scoops, one monster size plastic one for taking ice from the machine, a 12oz aluminium scoop for cubed ice and a 6oz aluminium scoop for crushed ice, the latter tending to channel crushed ice into the glass.

Some recipes call for an infused spirit, such as vanilla-infused rum. You make this by putting three split vanilla pods in a bottle of rum and leaving it to stand for a fortnight. Warming and turning the bottle frequently can speed the infusion.
Other herbs, spices and even fruits can be infused in a similar manner in vodka, gin, rum, whiskey and tequila. Whatever spirit you decide to use, pick a brand that is at least 40% alcohol by volume.
Be aware that when the level of spirit in a bottle drops below the flavouring, the alcohol loses its preservative effect and the flavouring can start to rot. Also be careful not to load the spirit with too much flavour or leave it to infuse for too long. Sample the infusion every couple of days to ensure the taste is not becoming overpowering.

Use an industrial lever-action press or a simple hand juicer to tease the juice from citrus fruits.

Key Ingredients are the 14 most frequently occurring alcoholic ingredients within our cocktail database plus common items such as fruit juice and carbonated mixers. All are easy available from most supermarkets. Cocktails made only using Key Ingredients are marked with our red key logo.

An accurate measure is essential to correctly follow a recipe. Look out for measures which are graduated in ounces and marked with quarter and half ounces. We recommend plastic Oxo measures which may not look as slick as a stainless steel thimble measure but, with graduations from 1/4oz to 2oz (perfect for shots and fractions of a shot) and a millilitre scale on the side, it’s a sight more practical. Not to mention being easier to read from above.

Balancing each ingredient within a cocktail is key to making a great drink. Therefore the accuracy with which ingredients are measured is critical to the finished cocktail. On this site, measures of each ingredient are expressed in 'shots'. Ideally a shot is 25ml or one US fluid ounce (29.6ml), measured in a standard jigger. (You can also use a clean medicine measure or even a small shot glass.)

Personally, we measure in ounces and count a slightly under-filled flat bar spoon as an 1/8 of an ounce. Some bartenders attempt to measure shots by counting time and estimating the amount of liquid flowing through a bottle’s spout. This is known as ‘free-pouring’ and in unskilled hands can be terribly inaccurate. We strongly recommend the use of a physical measure and a great deal of care. Fellow Europeans who find ‘shot(s)’ and fluid ounces decidedly imperial should work to the following conversion table:
2 shot(s) = 60ml
1½ shot(s) 52.5ml
1 shot(s) = 30ml
¾ shot(s) = 22.5ml
½ shot(s) = 15ml
¼ shot(s) = 7.5ml
1/8 shot(s) = 4ml

Receptacle in which to mix drinks by stirring. Look for one large enough to contain a great deal of ice, which means a colder, less diluted drink.

A mocktail is a cocktail that does not contain any alcoholic ingredients. These are also sometimes referred to a 'Virgin Cocktails'.

David Nepove's Mojitos are renowned in San Francisco I’m also very fond of Tony Abou-Ganim’s 'Tag Bar' muddler.

When selecting a nutmeg grater look for the type which also has a compartment for storing your nutmeg.

You will need a sharp knife and cutting board, and when it comes to really sharp knives I recommend you look to Japan. Tanaka by Kin Knives have thirty two layers of alternating nickel and stainless steel surround a cutting core of powdered steel. Something so beautiful deserves real respect – sharpen with ceramic rather than steel.

Originally grenadine was syrup flavoured with pomegranate. Sadly, most of today’s commercially available grenadine syrups are flavoured with red berries and cherry juice. They may be blood red but they don’t taste of pomegranate. Hunt out one of the few genuine commercially made pomegranate syrups or make your own.

1. Simple method: Gradually pour and stir two cups of granulated sugar into a saucepan containing one cup of pomegranate juice (POM Wonderful works well) and gently warm until the sugar is dissolved (do not let the juice even simmer!). Consider adding half a split vanilla pod for extra flavour. Allow syrup to cool and fine strain into an empty bottle. If kept in a refrigerator this mixture will last for a week or so (please be aware of the use-by date of your pomegranate juice).
2. Messy method: Separate the seed cells from the outer membranes and skin of eight pomegranates. Simmer these in a saucepan with 25ml/1oz of sugar syrup and ¼ of a vanilla pod for each pomegranate for at least an hour. Allow to cool, strain through a cheesecloth-layered sieve and store in a refrigerator.

A shaker with a fine mesh of the type used in coffee shops to dust cappuccinos is perfect for applying chocolate and powdered cinnamon over cocktails.

Short for professional, 'PRO' ingredients are ingredients which are commonly found in bars around the world. More obscure ingredients or ingredients specific to different countries are not included in this category. Cocktails made using these ingredients are marked with our red 'PRO' logo.

Some recipes call for the rim of the glass to be coated with salt, sugar or other ingredients such as desiccated coconut or chocolate: you will need to moisten the rim first before the ingredient will hold. When using salt, wipe a cut wedge of lime around the outside edge of the rim, then roll the outside edge through a saucer of salt. (Use sea salt rather than iodised salt as the flavour is less biting.) For sweet ingredients like sugar and chocolate, either use an orange slice as you would a lime wedge or moisten a sponge or paper towel with a suitable liqueur and run it around the outside edge of the glass.
Whatever you are using to rim the glass should cling to the outside edge only. Remember, garnishes are not a cocktail ingredient but an optional extra to be consumed by choice. They should not contaminate your cocktail. If some of your sugar or salt rim should become stuck to the inside edge of the glass, remove it using a fresh fruit wedge or a paper towel.
It is good practice to salt or sugar only two-thirds of the rim of a glass. This allows the drinker the option of avoiding the salt or sugar. If you rim glasses some hours prior to use, the lime juice or liqueur will dry, leaving a crust of salt or sugar crystals around the rim. The glasses can then be placed in a refrigerator to chill ready for use. If not kept ice cold, the juice and sugar can run down the glass.

A professional piece of equipment with the unfortunate title of a 'rimmer' has three sections, one with a sponge for water or lime juice, one containing sugar and another containing salt. Beware, as this encourages dipping the glass onto a moist sponge and then into the garnish, and so contaminating the inside of the glass.

Sometimes also referred to as the 'Cuban Roll' after the origin of this method of mixing, 'rolling' offers more dilution and aeration than stirring but is more gentle than shaking. It is achieved by simply pouring the ingredients from one container to another.
To do this, assemble your ingredients in a mixing glass or base of your shaker. Add ice and strain into a second mixing glass with a large diameter lipped rim increasing the distance between the two vessels as you pour. Then pour the partially mixed cocktail back into the first ice-filled container and strain into the second once again. Repeat this process several times and you will have ‘rolled’ your drink.

A Boston shaker comprises two flat-bottomed cones, one larger than the other. The large cone, or 'can', is made of stainless steel while the smaller cone can be either glass, stainless steel or even plastic.
Avoid Boston shakers that rely on a rubber ring to seal. We use Alessi Boston tins as these seal without a thump and open with the lightest tap. However good your Boston shaker, these devices demand an element of skill and practice is usually required for a new user to become proficient.
To use:
1/ Combine ingredients in the glass, or smaller of the two cans.
2/ Fill the large can with ice and briskly upend over the smaller can (or glass), quickly enough to avoid spilling any ice. Lightly tap the top with the heel of your hand to create a seal between the two parts.
3/ Lift shaker with one hand on the top and the other gripping the base and shake vigorously. The smaller can (or glass) should always be on the top when shaking and should point away from guests.
4/ After shaking for around 15 seconds, hold the larger (base) can in one hand and break the seal between the two halves of the shaker by tapping the base can with the heel of your other hand at the point where it meets the upper can (or glass).
5/ Before pouring, place a strainer with a coiled rim (also known as a Hawthorn strainer) over the top of the can and strain the mixture into the glass, leaving the ice cubes behind.

A standard shaker consists of three parts and hence is sometimes referred to as a three-piece shaker. The three pieces are 1/ a flat-bottomed, conical base or 'can', 2/ a top with a built-in strainer and 3/ a cap.
We strongly recommend this style of shaker for amateurs due to its ease of use. Be sure to purchase a shaker with a capacity of at least one pint as this will allow the ice room to travel and so mix more effectively.
To use:
1/ Combine all ingredients in the base of the shaker
2/ Fill two-thirds full with ice.
3/ Place the top and cap firmly on the base.
4/ Pick up the closed shaker with one hand on the top and the other gripping the bottom and shake vigorously. The cap should always be on the top when shaking and should point away from guests.
5/ After shaking briskly for a count of around 15 seconds, lift off the cap, hold the shaker by its base with one finger securing the top and pour the drink through the built-in strainer.

A traditional barspoon is the most versatile of tools. The flat, disc shaped end can be used as a muddler (a risky business according to many barkeeps who have been stabbed by breaking spoons), for layering drinks and for stirring. Of course, the spoon end also comes in handy for measuring honey and lifting maraschino cherries out of jars.

Hawthorn is to strainers what Hoover is to vacuum cleaners. Whoever makes them, sprung strainers with two or more prongs, designed to be used with Boston shakers, tend to be called Hawthorns. We favour one by Urban Bar which is well made with a tightly coiled spring.

A julep strainer is used when pouring from a mixing glass and is best described as a bowl-shaped colander affair which is not sprung like a Hawthorn and also lacks the prongs. Thus it is held in the glass rather than on top.

Many cocktails benefit from sweetening but granulated sugar does not dissolve easily in cold drinks. Hence pre-dissolved sugar syrup (also known as 'simple syrup') is used. Commercially made ‘gomme sirop' (gum syrup) is sugar syrup with the addition of gum arabic, the crystallised sap of the acacia tree, which adds mouth-feel and smoothness to some drinks, but not all. Make your own sugar syrup by gradually pouring and stirring two cups of granulated sugar into a saucepan containing one cup of hot water and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Heating helps the sugar to dissolve in the water but also changes the sugars physical properties. The more the sugar is heated, the more the sucrose will break down to the less viscous but sweeter glucose and fructose. So do not let the water even come close to boiling and only simmer for as long as it takes to dissolve the sugar. Allow syrup to cool and pour into an empty bottle. Ideally, you should finely strain your syrup into the bottle to remove any undissolved crystals which could otherwise encourage crystallisation. If kept in a refrigerator this mixture will last for a couple of months. A wide range of flavoured sugar syrups are commercially available. Orgeat (almond), passion fruit and vanilla are among the most popular. See also ‘Pomegranate (Grenadine) Syrup’.

We like to cut generously sized long twists rather than the coin-sized circular variety and find a swivel peelers such as the one by Oxo infinitely better than a knife for cutting twists without too much pith.

This term refers to affecting the aroma and so perceived flavour of a drink by releasing the aromatic oils from a strip of citrus zest (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit).
Using a knife or peeler, cut a half inch (12mm) wide length of zest from an unwaxed, cleaned fruit so as to leave just a little of the white pith. Hold it over the glass with the thumb and forefinger of each hand, coloured side down. Turn one end clockwise and the other anticlockwise so as to twist the peel and force some of its oils over the surface of the drink. Deposit any flavoursome oils left on the surface of the peel by wiping the coloured side around the rim of the glass. Some prefer to dispose of the spent twist but most drop the peel onto the surface of the drink as a garnish.
Citrus twists can also be thin, string-like lengths of zest cut with a canal knife and wrapped around a stirring rod to make a spring-like garnish which is then slid of the rod into the drink. Such thinly cut string-like twists can also be tied into a knot.