Short drinks

Short drinks are compact, concentrated cocktails served in small glasses, usually between 60 and 120 ml in the glass. Many are stirred, spirit-forward and meant to be sipped slowly, such as the Martini, Manhattan, Negroni or Sazerac, while others are short shaken sours. This page collects them all, with precise measures and notes on dilution, temperature and glassware, the three things that decide whether a short drink tastes polished or harsh.

48 cocktails

What counts as a short drink

A short drink has little or no mixer. The flavour comes almost entirely from spirits, liqueurs, vermouth, bitters and, in shaken versions, citrus and sugar. The result is small in volume but full in taste, and usually stronger per sip than a long drink. That is why precise measuring matters so much here: there is no soda to hide an imbalance.

Stirred or shaken

Dilution is an ingredient

Water from melting ice softens alcohol and opens up aromas. A stirred Martini or Manhattan typically gains around a fifth to a quarter of its volume in water during mixing. Too little and the drink burns, too much and it tastes thin. Use cold, hard ice straight from the freezer and taste a drop from the bar spoon before straining.

Glass and temperature

Serve stirred short drinks straight up in a chilled coupe, Nick and Nora or cocktail glass, or over one large cube in a rocks glass. A large cube melts slowly and keeps the drink cold without watering it down too quickly. Keep portions modest: a well-made short drink is meant to be enjoyed slowly and stays at its best for about ten minutes.