Dead Reckoning

The most common fruit juice used in cocktails. This citrus juice is about 6% acid; pure citric acid. Lemon juice should be used the day it is squeezed, some like it freshly squeezed and others like it a few hours old.

A tropical fruit, used in many tropical cocktails for its sweet flavor and yellow color. You can either juice a real pineapple, buy pineapple canned in juice (not syrup) or buy pineapple juice in a container.

A drink made from or flavored with vanilla (beans). Common brands include Bols, Galliano, Kahula, DeKyuper. You can make it yourself! Slice 2 whole vanilla beans lengthwise in half. Combine beans with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup simple syrup and 1 3/4 cup brandy in a sealable glass container. Swirl until the sugar dissolves. Let steep for 2 weeks (and up to 4 weeks, depending on your desired vanilla strength), stirring frequently. Remove the vanilla and enjoy!

Aged ports made from red grapes that are left to age in wooden barrels. These gradually mellow and turn a golden-brown color. Exposure to oxygen through the wood pores imparts a nutty flavor.

A syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees; 67% sugar by mass. Super duper infamous in Canada. Most cocktails that use maple syrup specifically say to get 'A' grade, the downside is $$$$.

A rum aged in charred oak barrels that lend their color to the rum. If a recipe calls for this rum it is likely refuring to a darker colored rum with a rich and strong yet smooth flavor. Common varieties come from Jamaica and Haiti.

Water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, creating a fizzy texture. We treat soda water, club soda, seltzer and sparkling water the same.

A concentrated aromatic bitters made in Trinidad from water, ethanol, gentian and other herbs and spices; used in many classic cocktails like the Manhattan.

A tropical plant with a tart yellow fruit. Most often used in tiki cocktails and fizzes.

Aromatic plants used in cocktails as a garnish or muddled into the liquor to add a light fresh taste. Common in the Mint Julep.

A yellow citrus fruit. The peel is often used as a garnish while the juice incorporated into the drink for a tart flavor profile (citric acid).