Note: This post was updated in May, 2013 because I realized that the way it was originally written only added to the confusion.
Someone recently asked me to resolve a little dispute between him and his friends about the difference between a neat, an up, and a straight up drink.
This is not the first conversation on the subject because these terms are often confused with one another. The difference between the first two is simple: chilled or not. Straight up, however, can bring the most confusion.
- Neat typically refers to a undiluted shot of liquor served at room temperature.
- Up or Straight Up is usually used to describe a drink that is chilled with ice (shaken or stirred) and strained into a glass (typically a cocktail glass).
- Straight is where things get really confusing because drinkers use it in two different ways. Some use when they order a straight pour of darker spirits (e.g. bourbon straight, which would mean neat) while some use it to mean a white spirit chilled and served in a cocktail glass (e.g. vodka chilled, which would mean up).
For another perspective on these confusing terms, check out: Up, Neat, Straight Up, or On the Rocks by Jeffrey Morgenthaler.
Comments
Thank you for answering this burning question!
You’re welcome, glad it helped.
Not so much a “burning” question as a chilling one!
LOL…I had an argument with a new bartender about this subject last night. She tried to argue the point that “neat” meant double since there would be no ice!!!
Thanks…I’m printing this out to prove my point!
Scottie Ewing
Proprietor – Sugar House, Denver CO
http://www.SugarHouseDenver.com
Sweet! Yet another bar argument solved!
Send me more common questions at cocktails.guide@about.com and I’ll see if I can answer them.
So what type of glass does a Neat drink go in? Such as, a scotch neat…does it go in a rocks glass or a snifter? which is the standard?
A scotch neat would be served in a rocks glass
Wrong, a scotch neat would be served in a snifter
The shape of a Cognac snifter or a Scotch glass allows more heat to transfer from your hand to release more flavor and that same shape helps to focus the delightful aroma of your Scotch Whisky.
Dang, I always thought that “Up” meant that it was served in a stemmed, or footed glass, hence, an “Up Glass.” Twenty years of Dirty Martini drinking, and I ordered them every one wrong. Depressing.
I ordered a drink last night without ice. The bill had a $1.00 charge for “NEAT”…I asked about this and I was told that since there was no ice I got more liquor than if I had ordered it on the rocks. I didn’t dispute the (trivial) charge BUT, it doesn’t seem right. Wouldn’t there be exactly the same amount of drink being served whether or not it’s on the rocks or neat? If it were on the rocks, there would APPEAR to me more in the glass, but the amount should be the same.
Please advise…I think the $1.00 charge was wrong in principal.
Thanks
Norm
It doesn’t matter, Up/Neat/Rocks Should still be an ounce and a half pour. Scotch on the rocks, no matter the size of the glass, is still an ounce and a half pour on ice.
The one dollar charge was because the bartender was either stupid or lazy and gages the amount of liquor by how full the glass is instead of actually measuring.
Thus the charge for extra booze.
mixed drinks all have1.5 ounces, if a person asks for it on the rocks the pour is then upped to 2.0 ounces i.e. ill have a jack on the rocks, that pour turns into 2.0 not 1.5
would serving whiskey with chilled whisky rocks be considered neat? I guess im asking is it neat strictly because it is room temp or because there is no water diluted from ice (as in straight up)?
Neat actually means poured directly from the bottle to the glass with no chilling. When a spirit is served neat it should be a larger pour than if in a mixed drink, e.g., 2 or 2 1/2 oz vs 1 1/2 oz.
I saw a travel story and the expression about some liquor was that “they pour their liquor steep”. I don’t know what that means. From the gist of the article, it seemed to mean undiluted in large quantities. Can you elaborate on this? Or have you heard this expression?
“Neat” usually refers to scotch whisk(e)y poured from the bottle room temperature into an “old fashioned” glass (a short, sipping glass like the ones that come with the deluxe Jack Daniels presents). Most people order a double to fill up the glass. Example: “Double scotch, neat, please.”
Straight up is chilled and strained, like she said.
I’ve been in the bar business for twenty years and have been a head bartender at many very upscale restaurants serving 25 year old scotch and way over priced cognacs..
Straight up: Served chilled and usually in a cocktail glass. 3 to 3.5 ounce pour.
Straight: Either straight up or neat. This term is used by people who may be unfamiliar with bar terms. If someone orders a “vodka straight” chances are they mean srtaight up. If someone orders a “whiskey straight” chances are.they mean neat.
Neat: Poured from bottle to glass with no ice. Served in either a snifter or a rocks glass. This is NOT A SHOT. 3 to 3.5 ounces.
Shot: 1.5 ounces in a shot glass, chilled or no.
Tall: A mixed drink served in a larger glass but with no extra liquor. Extra mixer is added instead (soda etc.)
Double: Double liquor with the normal amount of mixer.