Let’s be frank here. No one likes a know-it-all. But there is a certain sense of satisfaction that comes with being a little bit more ‘in the know’ than others, isn’t there? Like knowing all the lyrics to a chart topping song, or knowing the fancy words on a restaurant menu. We’ve put together a Toast glossary of top ten liquor lingo to help you keep your finger on the pulse in the world of drinks and mixology.

Angel’s share

The term for the small amount of spirit or wine that evaporates while the liquid is aging in barrels.

Atomizer

A bartending tool that allows liquids to be sprayed in a very fine mist.

Call drink

A drink order which specifies the brand of liquor that is desired e.g. “I would like a Baileys”

Dry hopping

A technique in beer making where hops are added to the beer after it has been cooked and after fermentation has begun.

Free pour

A bartending skill in which the act of portioning a cocktail’s ingredients is done by pouring spirits straight rather than measuring them out.

Jigger

A tool used in bartending to measure small amounts of liquid.

Lump ice

A chunk of ice created by cracking apart a larger ice block.

Mead

An alcoholic drink made of water, fermented honey, malt and yeast.

Pony

A little tulip-shaped glass commonly used in historic cocktail recipes. The pony is considered to be the predecessor to the shot glass.

Up

A drink order in which a cocktail in shaken or stirred with ice, and then served without the ice.