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Learn About Spirits

Learn how to best serve spirits and explore our library of cocktail recipes to find new ways to enjoy your old favorites.

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Discovery Series
Three cocktails: left tall glass with a reddish orange cocktail, front a whiskey sour on the rocks garnished with a lemon and cherry and right is a straight up martini with three olives.

Uncover Spirits Basics with Us

The complete history of liquor is unknown. While it’s believed the first spirit was distilled in the 13th century, the first mention of various alcohol types has been found as early as 3500 BCE in Indian Sanskrit! Here we’ll help you discover the wide world of spirits — mixology vocabulary, different glassware shapes and cocktail recipes for every season.

Mixology Vocabulary

Cocktails have been around since the 1800s, with the first known guide published in 1862 by New York City bartender Jerry Thomas. Over the years, mixology’s developed a vocabulary all its own. Learn what these commonly used terms mean and sound like a pro the next time you order a drink.

An unmixed brown spirit served in a snifter.

Neat

An unmixed spirit served at room temperature in a rocks glass or snifter.

A chilled whiskey being strained into a coup glass, sitting next to a bottle of the spirit.

Straight Up

An unmixed spirit shaken or stirred with ice and strained into a stemmed cocktail glass.

A brown spirit served over ice in a rocks glass sitting on a wooden table next to the bottle.

On the Rocks

An unmixed spirit served over ice.

Two dry martinis with a lemon twist, sitting on a wooden table with a lemon and measuring shot glass.

Dry

Use less vermouth than what’s called for in the recipe.

A martini with three olives sitting on a silver serving tray with a measuring shot glass and mixing glass with a stirrer.

Wet

Use more vermouth than what’s called for in the recipe.

A manhattan with two cherries in a coupe glass sitting on a table with ingredients to make cocktail.

Perfect

Use equal parts sweet and dry vermouth.

A martini with three olives on a skewer sitting on a wooden bar top with ingredients to make the cocktail.

Dirty

A martini style mixed with a splash of olive juice.

Two cocktails with red wine floated on top and a cherry as a garnish sitting on a wooden table.

Float

Pour liquid gently over the back of a bar spoon so it lays on the top of the drink.

Various colorful cocktails in a variety of cocktail glasses sitting on top of a white bar top.

Master the art of mixology.

Bartenders aren’t the only ones who know how to make a great cocktail. Experiment with a few of our recipes at home, and soon you’ll be mixing it up with the best of them.

Glass Guide

Many spirit glasses are named after the drink that made them famous. Learn why the shape of each glass is particularly suited to the beverage it holds.