Sakaba 酒場
Download
All articles

Help Center Making drinks

Bar basics

Short, plain explanations of glasses, techniques, garnishes and bar terms, on Home and right inside every recipe.

Bar basics is Sakaba’s pocket guide to the craft: which glass to use, how to shake or stir, what a dash is. You can browse it from Home, or tap a term on any recipe to see what it means without leaving the page.

Browse Bar basics

Scroll to the bottom of Home, below the spirits, to Bar basics. Tap a card to open its list:

  • Glassware, 13 glasses: Coupe, Nick & Nora, Martini, Margarita, Rocks / Old Fashioned, Highball, Collins, Wine glass, Flute, Hurricane, Tiki mug, Copper mug and Mug.
  • Techniques, 14 entries: Shake, Fill the shaker, Ice quality, Stir, Build, Muddle, Blend, Strain, Double strain, Dry shake, Rinse, Layer, Swizzle and Express.
  • Garnishes, 12 entries: Citrus twist, Wheel or wedge, Cherry, Olive, Mint sprig, Cucumber, Pineapple & umbrella, Coffee beans, Celery & savoury, Salt or sugar rim, Grated nutmeg and Cinnamon.
  • Glossary, 17 bar terms: ABV, Aperitif & digestif, Barspoon, Bitters, Dash, Dilution, Egg white & aquafaba, Float, Jigger, Liqueur, Neat, On the rocks, Proof, Simple syrup, Top up, Up and Vermouth.

Each entry has a small icon and a line or two of explanation. Tap ✕ at the top left to close the list.

The Glassware list with drawings and a short explanation of each glass

Search a list

Each list has its own search field, such as Search glassware. It looks through the names and the explanations, and forgives small typos. See Search tips.

Definitions inside a recipe

On a recipe page, anything with a dotted underline is defined in Bar basics. Tap it for a short card, then tap Got it to go back to the recipe.

  • Strength explains ABV, and why Sakaba’s estimate allows for the water ice adds.
  • Method explains the technique, such as Shaken or Stirred.
  • Serve explains the term when it’s one of the defined ones, such as Up, Neat or On the rocks.
  • You'll need shows the glass and the tools for the drink. Tap any of them.

The tools in You’ll need

The tools follow from how the drink is made:

  • Always: a jigger, for measuring.
  • Shaken: a shaker and a strainer.
  • Stirred: a mixing glass, a barspoon and a strainer.
  • Built: a barspoon, except for drinks built on beer.
  • Muddled: a muddler and a barspoon.
  • Blended: a blender.

Each tool has its own card on the recipe. Jigger and Barspoon are in the Glossary too.

The Search tab looks through Bar basics as well. Matching terms appear under Bar basics, below the cocktails, up to 4 at a time. Tap one to open its card. They show up once you’ve typed at least two characters.

Good to know

  • In your language. Bar basics is translated into all of Sakaba’s languages, like the recipes. See Languages.
  • Glasses with no entry. If a recipe’s glass isn’t one of the 13 in Glassware, You'll need shows only the tools.

Questions? Write to sakabaapp@proton.me.

From the blog