Straight up (bartending) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

In bartending, the term straight up (or up) refers to an alcoholic drink that is shaken or stirred with ice and then strained and served without ice in a stemmed glass

Cocktail glass

A cocktail glass is a stemmed glass which has a cone-shaped bowl placed upon a stem above a flat base. It is mainly used to serve cocktails. Its form derives from the fact that all cocktails are traditionally served chilled and contain an aromatic element...

.

This is contrasted with a drink served neat – a single, unmixed liquor

Distilled beverage

A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...

served without being cooled and without any water, ice, or other mixer

Drink mixer

Drink mixers are the non-alcoholic ingredients in mixed drinks and cocktails. There are many reasons mixers are used. They change or enhance flavors or add new ones to a drink. Mixers dilute the drink, lowering the alcohol by volume in the drink. They may make the drink sweeter, more sour, or more...

. Neat drinks and rocks drinks are often served in a rocks glass but may be served in a shot glass

Shot glass

A shot glass is a small glass designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either drunk straight from the glass or poured into a mixed drink....

or a cocktail glass

Cocktail glass

.

The term "up" is less ambiguous than "straight up", because sometimes the term "straight up" is used to mean "neat".

The term "straight" is also sometimes ambiguous, as it can be used to mean either "up" or "neat".

Definitions and usage

There is substantial confusion in the usage of neat, straight up, straight, and up. In the context of describing ways of serving a drink, all of these mean "served without ice," but some bar patrons and bartenders use them inconsistently.

"Neat" and "up" are relatively unambiguous; the term "neat" means "a single, unmixed liquor at room temperature", and "up" means "chilled and served without ice in a cocktail glass

Cocktail glass

."

"Straight" is often used interchangeably with "neat" (in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

). However, "straight" is also often used to refer to a spirit that is in a unmixed state in general, in addition to being used to describe a way of serving it. For example, many Bourbons

Bourbon whiskey

Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...

are identified as "Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

Straight Bourbon Whiskey" on their bottling labels, and U.S. Federal law contains a legal definition of the term "straight whiskey

Straight whiskey

Straight whiskey is whisky created by distilling a fermented cereal grain mash to create a spirit not exceeding 80% alcohol content by volume and then aging the spirit for at least two years at an abv concentration not exceeding 62.5% at the start of the aging process.Filtering and dilution...

". So sometimes "straight" may be used to mean either "straight up" (as defined above) or "neat", and clarification may be needed to determine the exact manner for serving it.

"On the rocks" refers to liquor poured over ice cubes.

Details

Cocktail

A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...

s are generally served chilled, although some (e.g., margarita

Margarita

The margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila mixed with orange-flavoured liqueur and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. It is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States...

s) may be served either with or without ice, and this must be specified.

Unmixed liquors may be served either neat, up, or on the rocks, with differing conventions. Expensive whisky

Whisky

Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...

and other aged liquor is most often served neat, while cheap whisky is usually served on the rocks. Vodka

Vodka

Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....

is sometimes served chilled.

A shot of whisky, tequila

Tequila

Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....

, or vodka is typically served neat in a shot glass

Shot glass

A shot glass is a small glass designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either drunk straight from the glass or poured into a mixed drink....

, often with a chaser.

Definitions and usage

Details

See also