Straight Up

What does "straight up" mean?

A drink served "straight up" (often just "up") is first shaken or stirred with ice so it gets properly cold. Then the ice is strained out and gone for good: the drink arrives without ice, classically in a stemmed martini glass. The chill is in the drink, not in the glass.

Typical candidates for "straight up" are the Martini, the Daiquiri or the Manhattan. In short: anything you could also order "on the rocks", but prefer cold without ice floating in your glass.

Why chill with ice in the first place?

Simple: ice does more than chill. It makes a drink smoother and rounder. While shaking or stirring, a small part of the ice melts and gives the drink exactly the polish it needs. After that, the ice has done its job and does not need to come along into the glass, where it would keep diluting and watering the drink down.

Careful: "straight up" is not used the same way everywhere

And here comes the honest answer to a frequently asked question: the term is indeed not used consistently. Most bartenders mean the chilled, then served-without-ice version we described here.

But some guests (and some bars, especially in the whisky world) say "straight up" when they actually mean "neat", in other words a spirit served pure at room temperature. When in doubt, just ask. Luckily, it is not an awkward question: simply say what you want, for example "cold, but no ice in the glass", and that is exactly what you will get.

The overview: neat, on the rocks, straight up

• Neat: pure, no ice, at room temperature
• On the rocks: with ice cubes in the glass, chilled
• Straight up: chilled with ice, then served without ice in the glass

At our lounge

Want to try your favourite drink a different way? Just tell our team at the bar how you like it. Up, on the rocks or as a freshly shaken classic: we will make it exactly the way it tastes best to you.