Table of Contents
Bartending Terms
And That's Bartender Lingo
Knowing bar terms and bar lingo is good for three things. First,
giving you insight into what all those wonderful people behind
the stick (read on, we'll explain) are doing. Second, making it
easier to get exactly what you want at the bar. And last, and
definitely not least, sounding cool.
Ready to get what you want and sound cool? Obviously. Here's
all the bartender terms, lingo, and slang we could get our
hands on, all for you.
Bartending Terms
#-deep: 2-deep, 3-deep, etc., refers to how many people are
waiting in line to get drinks at the bar
86'd: An item that's no longer available. Learn more about 86
meaning and kitchen slang.
Autograt: Gratuity put on a party's check automatically,
Autograt: Gratuity put on a party's check automatically,
usually because of party size
Back: A milder drink taken after a shot or neat glass of liquor,
e.g., a shot of whiskey with a pickle back is a shot of whiskey
followed by a shot of pickle juice
Bartender's handshake: A gift from one bartender to another,
usually in the form of a shot and free
Behind: Called out when making one's location known when
not in the line of sight, to avoid running into any other
barbacks, bussers, or bartenders behind the bar
Behind the stick: Working behind the main bar, as opposed to
working out in the cocktail area or service station; thought to
refer to the keg tap levers
Bev nap: Short for beverage napkin, the small paper napkins
placed beneath drinks instead of coasters
Bitters: A concentrated herbal alcoholic blend frequently
added to cocktails to enhance flavor (side note for those
wondering what bitters are: Angostura bitters is the most
widely-used and was invented in 1824 by a German physician
for stomach maladies)
Blend: To mix up ingredients and ice in an electric blender;
depending on where you live, these could be called frozen
drinks or blended drinks
Boomerang: A drink sent, usually via a trustworthy customer,
from a bartender at one bar to a bartender at another; worth
reading more about
Broken: Obviously used to describe a physically broken bottle,
but also used in reference to a bottle that was killed or
emptied
Build: To make a drink starting with ice and then
systematically adding the other ingredients to build the
cocktail
Burn the ice: Pouring hot water into an ice bin to melt the ice;
usually because a glass has broken over the ice bin
Burnt: Refers to the burnt martini, a martini with a small bit of
Scotch added; some recipes call for 1:2 scotch to gin, while
others call for just a few drops of Scotch
Call drink: A drink ordered with both the specific liquor name
and the specific mixer name, e.g., Jack and Coke, Tanqueray
and tonic
Chaser: Anything consumed immediately after a shot or neat
drink
Chill: To add ice to a glass or place a glass in a freezer or
cooler briefly, so a cocktail can be poured into a cold glass
Clopening: Closing one night and opening the next morning;
arguably more inconvenient than the dreaded double
Cocktail: An alcoholic mixed drink, which is either a mix of
spirits or one or more spirit mixed with other ingredients like
water, soda, juice, or flavored syrup (here are the cocktails
every bartender should know)
Comp: An item removed from a customer's bill
Cooler: An alcoholic-based bottled beverage offered in a
variety of different alcohols—vodka, rum, wine—which comes in
a variety of flavors (e.g. Smirnoff Ice, Wildberry cooler, Mike’s
Hard Lemonade)
Corner: What bartenders, or anyone on the restaurant floor or
in the kitchen, say when they're turning a bling corner to
prevent collisions with unseen staff
Dash: A few drops of an ingredient
Dirty: The addition of olive juice to a martini
Double: A drink with double the amount of alcohol as the
standard recipe calls for
Double (Shift): A work schedule that requires working both the
day and evening shift
Dry: The reduction of vermouth in a martini
Finger: An antiquated unit of measurement, equal to the width
of a person's finger
Flame: Setting a drink on fire; Sambuca is often lit on fire to
heat it up before putting the flame out and drinking it. Another
common flaming liquor is 151-proof rum, which is very
flammable. Do not flame drinks unless you're a trained
professional.
Float: A liquor, mixer, or syrup that is slowly poured on top of a
drink to create layering
Free pour: Pour liquor directly into a glass without using a
jigger or shot glass to measure the quantity; often done by
jigger or shot glass to measure the quantity; often done by
experienced bartenders who can count on accurate pours
Frost: A glass dipped in water, drained, then put in a freezer;
used often with beer mugs
Garnish: Added to a drink after it's been made to either add
Book a Demo
something to the flavor profile or aroma or enhance the drink's
appearance, e.g., orange zests, cherries, etc.
< BACK TO RESOURCES
High top: The taller tables near the bar that a cocktail server or
Bartender Lingo,cocktail bartender covers; usually use stools
Restaurant Terms
Highball: Liquor mixed with soda water, served in a highball
(tall, slim) glass
& Kitchen Slang
House pour: The well or rail liquor the bar offers, as opposed to
top-shelf and premium drinks
Dictionary In the weeds: When someone is so busy—often overwhelmed—
that they can’t catch up and service quality takes a hit
OCTOBER 31, 2019 | SCOTT
Jigger: A small hourglass-shaped measuring device used by
bartenders to pour accurately
Last call: Letting patrons know to get their final drink orders in
Last call: Letting patrons know to get their final drink orders in
because the bar, well, she be a' closin'
Layering: A shot or drink with heavier alcohol on the bottom
and lighter alcohol floated on top it; done using a careful pour
down the side of the glass or over an inverted spoon
Long: A mixed drink served in a tall glass with a fairly large
volume, typically 6-9 ounces
Mise en Place: Pronounced "meez ehn plahs" (beret required),
roughly translated as "everything in its place," and used to
describe a bartender's work environment with particular focus
on garnish tray, cocktail straws, and napkins
Mixer: Non-alcoholic substance that accompanies alcohol in
drinks; can be water, soda, juice, energy drinks etc.
Mixology: The art of creating and mixing cocktails
Muddle: To mash ingredients with a muddler, a special tool for
grinding and crushing ingredients into the bottom and sides of
a glass
Neat: A drink straight from the bottle, typically served in a rocks
glass; no ice, no nothin'
On the fly: When a drink is needed immediately, usually
because the original order was wrong, unsatisfactory, or
spilled, it's asked for "on the fly"
On the rocks: Served with ice, typically in a rocks glass
Point: The part of a bar closest to the entrance; typically the
highest-traffic part of a bar and worked by the best bartender
Pony: A 1-ounce shot, as opposed to the standard 1.5-ounce
shot
Premium: Premium alcohol or top-shelf liquor (e.g. the well or
bar rail gin is Beefeater and the premium is Tanqueray)
Rim a glass: To wet a glass's rim in a rimmer and press the
glass into salt, celery salt, or sugar
Rocks glass: Also known as the Old Fashioned glass or the
lowball, it's the standard glassware for serving liquor with ice
cubes
Service bartender: Bartender who works at the service station
and prepares drinks for customers not at the bar, i.e., the dining
room, the patio, the cocktail area, etc.
Shake: To shake drink ingredients together in a shaker
Shooter: A small mixed drink taken as a shot, usually about 2-3
ounces
Shot: 1.5 ounces of straight liquor taken all at once
Sour: The sour bar mix—equal parts lemon or lime juice and
simple syrup—that's used to make whiskey sours, vodka sours,
margaritas, etc.
Speed rail: The rack that sits behind the bar, but facing the
bartender, that holds all the most commonly ordered (re:
cheapest or well) liquors
Spill: When a drink doesn't make it to the guest due to being
made incorrectly—or actually being spilled—it's typically put in
the bar POS system as a "spill."
Stir: To stir drink ingredients together with a bar spoon
Straight up / up: A drink shaken or stirred then strained and
served in a stemmed glass without ice
Strain: The act of pouring a drink after shaking or stirring, often
through a strainer but also through the side of a shaker, into a
glass
Toddy: A sweet alcoholic drink cut with hot water, often served
with warm spices like cinnamon, black pepper, and nutmeg
Top shelf: The highest quality and most expensive bottles of
alcohol available, often kept on the top shelf because they're
not used that often
Turn: One guest getting up from a table and another sitting
down is known as one turn of that table
Twist: A piece of citrus zest (a thin, curled slice of a citrus fruit
peel) added to a drink for flavor or decoration, either in the
drink directly or hanging on the side of the glass
Virgin: A drink with no alcohol in it
Well drinks: Usually interchangeable with rail drinks and house
pour, it's the lowest-cost liquor the bar has available
Wet: A drink with more of the mixer and less of the alcohol than
the standard recipe calls for
And That's Bartender Lingo
Learning bartender lingo and bar terms benefits everyone. If
you're a bar-goer, you'll be able to whip out your bar lingo and
order drinks like a pro. If you're a bartender, knowing bartender
terms is part of the [Link]'re adding new bar lingo to this list of
bartender terms all the time! It's a project that will likely last for
all time, because new bartender terms are being created
every day.
Wanna learn more? Check out our restaurant terms and bar
and restaurant dictionary!
