Mixology Techniques: Muddling, Shaking, Stirring and Straining

The techniques behind a well-made drink. Muddling crushes mint or fruit to release flavor; shaking with ice chills and dilutes; stirring keeps a spirit-forward drink clear and silky; straining removes ice and pulp; rimming coats the edge of the glass with salt or sugar; layering floats liquids of different densities on top of each other. Modern bars add batching, infusions, reductions, smoking, flaming and clarification.

Nine of the twelve words end in -ING, so the endings will not help you. The grid has no diagonals at all.

Mixology & Cocktails Vocabulary: 12 Words to Find

Words run across, up and down; 6 of the 12 read backwards. The longest word is Clarification, with 13 letters.

Batching: Mixing a large quantity of a cocktail in advance, so it can be served quickly at a party or a busy bar.
Clarification: Removing cloudiness from a juice or drink, for example with milk or a centrifuge, to make it crystal clear.
Flaming: Setting the alcohol in a drink alight for a moment, for show or to add a toasted flavor.
Infusion: Soaking fruit, herbs or spices in a liquid so it takes on their flavor.
Layering: Pouring liquids of different densities carefully so they float in separate colored layers.
Muddling: Pressing and crushing fruit, herbs or sugar in the glass to release their flavor, as in a mojito.
Reduction: A juice, wine or syrup boiled down to concentrate its flavor, then used in a drink.
Rimming: Coating the edge of a glass with salt or sugar, as for a margarita.
Shaking: Mixing a cocktail with ice in a shaker to chill, dilute and blend it.
Smoking: Filling a glass or a drink with wood smoke for aroma.
Stirring: Mixing a drink gently with ice and a long spoon, to chill it without making it cloudy.
Straining: Pouring a drink through a strainer to hold back ice, seeds or herbs.

How to Solve the Mixology & Cocktails Word Search

There are no diagonals, and nine words end in -ING, so look at the beginnings: "clarification" is the longest at 13 letters, reading normally across. "Batching" has the only B and "layering" the only Y. "Stirring" and "straining" both start with ST; stirring has a double R.

Bartending Course Activities

Ask trainees to explain each technique and name a drink that uses it.
Practice layering with colored juices and syrups of different sugar content.
Compare a shaken and a stirred drink side by side, with or without alcohol.