Glossary
A family is a ratio skeleton. You instantiate it with a base: Whiskey Sour, Pisco Sour and Margarita are the same template.
Sour
Short, base plus citrus plus sweetener. Consensus template 2:1:1. Daiquiri, Whiskey Sour, Margarita, Gimlet.
Highball
Base lengthened with soda, served long over ice. The strict two-ingredient rule is refuted.
Old Fashioned
Sugar, bitters and base, built in the glass. Slow dilution over a large cube.
Julep
Muddled mint over crushed ice. High dilution, very refreshing.
Fizz
A Sour derivative, lengthened with soda water, shaken and served without ice.
Collins
A Sour derivative served over ice, not shaken.
Flip
Egg yolk, fortified wine and nutmeg. Round texture, dessert register.
Colada
Coconut cream and juice, blended. Creamy and long.
Spritz
Bitter aperitivo, sparkling wine and soda. Low in alcohol, opens the appetite.
Punch
Sharing format, often fruity and lengthened.
Cold and dilution are inseparable: ice chills mainly by melting. No chilling without dilution.
Build
Built directly in the serving glass. Dilution comes from the serving ice.
Stir
Fifteen to twenty seconds, for spirit-forward drinks. Clear, silky, low aeration. Martini, Manhattan, Negroni.
Shake
For citrus, juice, egg and cream. Chills, dilutes and aerates. Thermal balance is reached around twelve seconds.
Dry shake
Shake without ice, then with, to emulsify egg white or aquafaba.
Muddle
Crush fresh mint or citrus. Mojito, Caipirinha, Julep.
Double strain
A second pass through a fine strainer after muddling fruit or herbs.
Blend
Blender service. Frozen drinks and coladas.
Dilution
The water brought by melting ice. It is part of the recipe, not an accident.
The five axes of the technical sheet. They are what lets you compare two drinks and build a pairing.
Acidity
From low to excessive. It cuts fat and wakes up a rich dish.
Bitterness
From none to strong. Carried by bitters and amari. It structures an aperitif.
Strength
Light to heady. Anchored on real ABV but corrected by dilution and sugar: perceived strength is not ABV.
Body
Thin to full. The mouthfeel, which decides whether it stands up to a heavy dish.
Sweetness
Brought by syrups, liqueurs and fruit. It rounds alcohol and carries fruit.
Effervescence
The bubbles. They lighten and reset the palate between bites.
Smoky
The mezcal character. The only base profile verified so far.
A single base spirit in the French tradition. The modifier is what steers the character.
Gin
Botanical base, backbone of the Martini, the Negroni and dry sours.
Rum
White, aged, agricole or Cuban. The Daiquiri is its barest reading.
Tequila and mezcal
Agave. Mezcal brings the smoke.
Whiskey
Bourbon, rye, scotch, irish. Base of Old Fashioneds and Manhattans.
Brandy and cognac
Wine spirit. Sidecar, Crusta.
Vermouth
A modifier, not a base. Dry, Italian red or bianco.
Amaro and bitter aperitivo
Built in three parts: base alcohol, a bittering agent such as gentian or cinchona, aromatics. Campari and Aperol define the Negroni, Americano and Spritz.
Bitters
Angostura, Peychaud's, orange. A few drops are enough.
Alcohol-free
A service category in its own right in the French classification, not a fallback.
Pairing is an art with a measurable base. These five mechanics are established, but they are weighted, not calculated.
Fat cut
Acidity cuts richness. Sour, Margarita, Spritz or Sidecar on fried food, duck, cheese.
Intensity match
Light with light, robust with robust. You do not drown a ceviche under a Negroni.
Heat control
Alcohol amplifies capsaicin. On a spicy dish, go low in alcohol, sweet, cold.
Aromatic bridge
An echo of ingredient or aroma. Citrus with citrus, coffee with chocolate.
What grows together
Regional pairings often hold on their own.
The ABV guardrail
The number one obstacle. A cocktail carries more alcohol than a glass of wine, and it compounds across a menu. For a full meal, aim for low-ABV bases.
The sugar rule
On a dessert, the cocktail must be at least as sweet as the dish, otherwise the dessert flattens it.
Sweet against salty
Very sweet plus very salty amplify each other. Salty dish, low-sugar drink.
Where wine fails
Vinegary and very spicy dishes. Vinegar is the enemy of wine; the cocktail gets through.