Bartending FAQ

Tap every bottle and mixer you have on hand, then press MIX. The mixer checks every recipe in the book against your shelf and shows two lists: drinks you can make right now, and drinks you are only one ingredient away from. Tap any drink to see the glass, ice, garnish and step-by-step instructions.

Yes. There is no sign-up, no subscription and no ads. It is a free tool from Mediajaw, a web design and hosting company in San Angelo, Texas.

Yes. Your shelf is saved in your own browser on the device you are using, so it is already filled in next time. It is not sent to us. If you switch phones, use a private window or clear your browser data, you will start with an empty shelf.

Those are drinks you could make if you had one more ingredient. The list is sorted by the missing item, so it doubles as a shopping list. Buy one bottle and you may unlock several new drinks.

Many classic drinks work with close substitutes. For example, a Margarita can use Cointreau, triple sec or Grand Marnier, and a Mojito works with white or gold rum. When you own any one of them, the recipe counts it and tells you which bottle it is using.

Yes. The recipe book has its own Shots section with layered favorites like the After Five, B-52, Baby Guinness, Irish Flag and Mexican Flag, plus party shooters like the Lemon Drop Shot, Washington Apple and Tequila Shot. Each layered shot page shows the stripes in order so you know what you are aiming for.

Not yet. The book is cocktails only right now. Many sours and highballs taste good with the spirit left out and a little extra mixer, but we have not written those recipes up yet.

We would love to hear it. Reach Mediajaw through mediajaw.com and tell us what you would like added.

Any orange liqueur works. Triple sec is the budget choice and is a little sweeter. Grand Marnier is richer because it has a cognac base. The mixer treats all three as interchangeable.

Stir equal parts sugar and hot water until the sugar dissolves completely, then let it cool. Kept in a sealed jar in the fridge, it lasts about a month. For honey syrup, mix honey with an equal amount of warm water.

Fresh-squeezed juice makes a noticeably better drink, especially in sours like the Daiquiri and Margarita. Bottled juice works in a pinch, so you may want to add a little less syrup to balance it.

Orgeat (say "OR-zhat") is a sweet almond syrup. It is the backbone of the Mai Tai and many tiki drinks. It contains nuts, so skip it if anyone you are serving has a nut allergy.

Blanco is unaged or barely rested, so it tastes bright and peppery, and it is great in Margaritas and Ranch Water. Reposado rests in oak for a few months, which makes it smoother with a hint of vanilla and good in spirit-forward drinks. Most recipes here accept either one.

Both are correct. Bourbon is sweeter and rounder. Rye is spicier and drier. Use what you like to sip, and the mixer will count either one.

A dash is one quick shake from the bottle, roughly 1/8 teaspoon. Bitters are strong, so start with less and add more.

A solid starter shelf has vodka, gin, white rum, blanco tequila, bourbon, an orange liqueur, sweet and dry vermouth, and Angostura bitters. In the fridge, keep limes, lemons, simple syrup, club soda, tonic and ginger beer. Then check the "One bottle away" tab to see which next bottle unlocks the most drinks.

Shake drinks that have citrus, juice, cream or egg, because shaking mixes, chills and aerates them. Stir drinks made only of spirits, like the Martini, Manhattan and Negroni, so they stay silky and clear.

For drinks with egg white, like the Pisco Sour or White Lady, shake everything hard without ice first to whip up the foam. Then add ice and shake again to chill it.

A standard US shot is 1.5 ounces. A jigger is the double-sided measuring cup bartenders use, and common sizes are 1 and 2 ounces or 3/4 and 1 1/2 ounces. If you do not have one, a tablespoon is 1/2 ounce.

One US fluid ounce is about 30 ml (29.6 to be exact). So 2 oz is about 60 ml, 3/4 oz is about 22 ml and 1/2 oz is 15 ml.

Pour the heaviest ingredient first. Then pour each next one slowly over the back of a spoon held just above the surface, so it floats instead of mixing. Liqueurs with more sugar are heavier and go on the bottom.

Cut a strip of citrus peel. Hold it skin-side down over the drink and squeeze it so the oils spray across the top. You can rub it on the rim, then drop it in or toss it. That aroma is a big part of drinks like the Old Fashioned and Martini.

A big cube has less surface area than a handful of small ones, so it melts slower. Your Old Fashioned or Negroni stays cold without getting watery.

No. Any glass will hold a drink. But the right glass keeps drinks colder, holds bubbles longer and makes room for the right ice. The glassware guide shows what each glass is for and which drinks use it.

A coupe is a stemmed glass with a shallow, rounded bowl. It is for drinks served "up," meaning chilled and strained with no ice, like the Daiquiri, Manhattan or Sidecar. It is less spill-prone than a V-shaped martini glass.

Raw eggs carry a small risk of salmonella. Use fresh, refrigerated eggs, or buy pasteurized egg whites in a carton to lower the risk. Skip egg-white drinks if you are pregnant, elderly or have a weakened immune system, or just leave the egg out.

In the US, a standard drink is defined as 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol. Many cocktails contain more than one standard drink, and a Long Island Iced Tea contains several. Know your limits, drink water between rounds, and never drink and drive.

Mediajaw, a web design, hosting and print shop in San Angelo, Texas, built mediajaw.bar as a free tool for home bartenders. Read more about the bar.