• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

CURRENT STREET EDITION

DIG 23.02 – 1/28/21

TERMS OF SERVICE: HOW TO ORDER A DRINK PROPERLY

Written by HALEY HAMILTON Posted June 13, 2017 Filed Under: COLUMNS, Drinks, LIFESTYLE

 

It will make your server, and you, much happier

 

 

I hear a lot of strange things at work—from requests for cocktails that only exist on another bar’s menu to snippets of very personal conversations and the most horrible pickup lines imaginable during cringeworthy first dates.

 

Very few things top the charts, however, like people ordering drinks incorrectly.

 

I’m not talking about when people order odd combinations or something extremely esoteric. If you want a rye on the rocks with a splash of olive brine, have at it; I will most definitely even straw taste this combination before handing it over because, who knows, you might be onto something. I’m more talking about certain words in the world of alcoholic beverages that mean very specific things. When it comes to those items, it’s in everyone’s best interest to get on the same page.

 

Some of these are honest mistakes, and we all make them. Myself included—the first time someone ordered a chilled shot of tequila from me, I simply filled a shot glass with ice and said that it would probably take a minute to get cold. Luckily, the guest was nice enough to correct me.

 

I fully believe in paying it forward, and promise that I’ll try to be as nice as possible in the process.

 

Straight Up

Anytime someone asks for a “bourbon, straight up,” I want to pour the booze into a cocktail glass and hand it over.

 

Drinking spirits straight—as in with no mixers, no supplementary syrups, cordials, or garnishes—comes three ways: neat, on the rocks, or as a shot.

 

“Shot” and “neat” are arguably the same thing—a single spirit poured into an empty glass—although in many bars, 1.5-ounce glasses are used to serve “shots” because the idea is that the person who ordered it is going to knock it back in one gulp. Spirits ordered “neat,” meanwhile, are typically  poured at 2 ounces in a standard down glass (more on this later) because these drinkers are likely taking their time with their beverage (yes, this is reflected in the price).

 

“On the rocks” means your spirit will be poured over ice.

 

When it comes to drinking, “up” refers to the kind of glass your drink will come in. Cocktails like Manhattans and martinis are, unless requested otherwise, served up: in a glass with a stem.

 

Straight spirits, on the other hand, are not served up. When you’re looking for a drink right in a glass straight from the bottle, you’re looking for that spirit neat. After ordering that Jameson you have been thinking about all day, a good bartender will ask, “Would you like that neat, or on the rocks?”

 

Help us help you: Save “straight up” for ordering martinis.

 

Martini

On that note, a martini is a cocktail proportioned 3:1 of gin or vodka and dry vermouth (or brine, if you like ’em dirty).

 

This is the sole definition of “martini”. A drink of any other ingredients that comes in a triangular-shaped glass with a stem does not, by virtue of its vessel, become a martini; a certain shaped glass does not a certain cocktail make.

 

Therefore, the only response to “what kind of martinis do you have?” is “gin or vodka.”

 

Flavored martinis—the appletini, razzamatini, and espresso martini—have worked their way so far into the vernacular of American drinking culture that many bars carry the ingredients to make them. The lack of Apple Pucker on the shelf doesn’t mean a bartender can’t make the drink that you desire.

 

Blended

Sounds like “blender” but has nothing to do with kitchen appliances.

 

Spirits, typically Scotch and rum, sometimes have “blended” varieties, meaning spirits of different ages and/or regions have been combined in one bottle to yield a very particular flavor and product. Johnny Walker, for example, is a commonly ordered  blended spirit.

 

You can get a blended Scotch, neat.

 

No one, however, is going to put Scotch in a blender.

 

Champagne

Champagne is a region in France and a method of fermenting and bottling effervescent white wine.

 

Champagne, everyone’s favorite celebratory libation, can therefore only truly come from the grapes grown in Champagne, France, and must be produced using the double fermentation used by vintners in that region. It is relatively expensive and therefore frequently only sold by the bottle in bars and restaurants.

 

You cannot order Champagne by the glass. There are several other varieties of sparkling white wine—cava and prosecco are the most common—that are often offered by the glass.

 

If dry, sparkling white wine is what you want, and you aren’t buying a bottle, do not insist on Champagne.

 

Copyright 2017 Haley Hamilton.

Terms of Service is licensed for use by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and media outlets in its network.

HALEY HAMILTON

Haley is an AAN Award-winning columnist for DigBoston and Mel magazine and has contributed to publications including the Boston Globe and helped found Homicide Watch Boston. She has spearheaded and led several Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism investigations including a landmark multipart series about the racialized history of liquor licensing in Massachusetts, and for three years wrote the column Terms of Service about restaurant industry issues from the perspective of workers.

More from author
  • HALEY HAMILTON
    https://digboston.com/author/haley-hamilton/
    TEACHING ESSENTIAL WORKERS HOW TO PACIFY THE UNHINGED DURING COVID
  • HALEY HAMILTON
    https://digboston.com/author/haley-hamilton/
    Restaurants offer classes
    SILVER DINING PLAYBOOK: RESTAURANTS FOSTER PHYSICAL COMMUNITY THROUGH REMOTE CLASSES
  • HALEY HAMILTON
    https://digboston.com/author/haley-hamilton/
    A PANDEMIC EMPLOYMENT SURVEY FOR GREATER BOSTON SERVICE INDUSTRY WORKERS
  • HALEY HAMILTON
    https://digboston.com/author/haley-hamilton/
    Al Fresco Boston
    SILVER DINING PLAYBOOK: DON’T FORGET TO OVER-TIP YOUR SERVER

Filed Under: COLUMNS, Drinks, LIFESTYLE Tagged With: Bars, Champagne, cocktails, Haley Hamilton, Manhattan, martini, neat, on the rocks, straight, Terms of Service, up

WHAT’S NEW

Gov. Charlie Baker announces an educator vaccine program Wednesday in a WCVB screen capture.

STATE ADDS 400,000 EDUCATORS TO LIST FOR VACCINE

INBOX: JOHN BARROS LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR OF BOSTON

INBOX: JOHN BARROS LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR OF BOSTON

TRUMP GUY WINS THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY TO FILL DELEO’S SEAT

TRUMP GUY WINS THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY TO FILL DELEO’S SEAT

CHECKING IN ON THE COMMONWEALTH’S COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE BILL

CHECKING IN ON THE COMMONWEALTH’S COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE BILL

YOUNG VOTERS, OLD GAME

YOUNG VOTERS, OLD GAME

CAMPBELL ORDERS INFORMATION ON OFFICER’S INVOLVEMENT IN CAPITOL ATTACK

CAMPBELL ORDERS INFORMATION ON OFFICER’S INVOLVEMENT IN CAPITOL ATTACK

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • SPECIAL FEATURE ON THE MASS STATE POLICE: TROOPER WILSON’S WAR by CHRIS FARAONE
  • [UPDATE: WE GOT IT!] WHERE IS THE CONTRACT FOR MASSACHUSETTS’ VACCINE APPOINTMENT SOFTWARE? by POLINA WHITEHOUSE
  • BOSTON LATIN ACADEMY GRADS FIGHT FOR REPRESENTATION IN ALUMNI GROUP by CHRIS FARAONE
  • MASS KEEPS TRYING TO BUILD A NEW WOMEN’S PRISON OUTSIDE OF PUBLIC VIEW by DAN ATKINSON
  • WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH MASSACHUSETTS POLITICS AND VACCINATIONS? by ZACK HUFFMAN

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG 23.02 – 1/28/21

Footer

digbos

digbos
“No one wants to live in a world where music is “No one wants to live in a world where music is created to please a cold-blooded algorithm.” https://buff.ly/2OmuqPR #surveillance #interview #politics #tecnology
Barros is the fifth mayoral candidate to enter the Barros is the fifth mayoral candidate to enter the race. https://buff.ly/3bj3EAW #politics #election #Boston #Massachusetts
Can a veteran of the Wisconsin Uprising and former Can a veteran of the Wisconsin Uprising and former Mass union leader rescue the IAFF? https://digboston.com/a-firefighter-election/ #labor #firefighter #union #election #opinion #WisconsinUprising #Massachusetts #national
New #report shows 1/6 of women in Mass prisons sen New #report shows 1/6 of women in Mass prisons sentenced to life without parole. https://digboston.com/commonwealth-committed-to-other-death-penalty/ #prison #prisoner #humanrights #criticism #Massachusetts
“The gratuitous militarization of police forces “The gratuitous militarization of police forces across the United States facilitated by this program has helped to turn these agencies into brutal weapons of repression.” https://digboston.com/inbox-group-calls-for-biden-to-abolish-police-militarization-program/ #police #reform #criticism #Massachusetts
It’s the second time in less than a year that pr It’s the second time in less than a year that progressives have been dealt a bitter defeat in a crowded primary race. https://digboston.com/trump-guy-wins-the-democratic-primary-to-fill-deleos-seat/ #politics #election #Democrats #primary #legislature #Winthrop #Revere  #Massachusetts #MAGA #herp #derp
As lawmakers consider Baker’s amendments to clim As lawmakers consider Baker’s amendments to climate bill, the fight for environmental justice continues. https://digboston.com/checking-in-on-the-commonwealths-comprehensive-climate-bill/ #politics #legislature #environment #activism #globalwarming #Massachusetts
AS LABOR SECRETARY, WILL MARTY WALSH REPRESENT ALL AS LABOR SECRETARY, WILL MARTY WALSH REPRESENT ALL WORKERS? Or just unionized construction workers… and the corporations that fund the Democrats. The latest from DigBoston's @jasonpramas. https://digboston.com/as-labor-secretary-will-marty-walsh-represent-all-workers/ #politics #labor #union #work #national #analysis #Boston #Massachusetts
Includes Gang Green, The Freeze, SIEGE, TREE, and Includes Gang Green, The Freeze, SIEGE, TREE, and many more. https://digboston.com/iconic-lineup-comes-through-to-support-nantasket-venue-through-pandemic/ #music #digital #benefit #Hull #Massachusetts
Our interview with Avi Loeb, author of “Extrater Our interview with Avi Loeb, author of “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.” https://buff.ly/2O3nlUd #interview #book #alien #technology #astronomy #controversy #debate #science #Boston #Massachusetts
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]