Stirring

The cocktail is stirred with a glass or metal rod in a mixing glass, before the cocktail is strained into a glass. As with shaking, crushed ice should not be used, and water condensing on the outside shows that the cocktail is finished.

Drinks based on clear liquors, like a Martini, should always be stirred and not shaken (Sorry James Bond) to retain its clarity and be free of ice chips.
Only stir enough to mix the ingredients. Approximately 10 - 15 stirs is a good rule. Stirring it too much will dilute the liquor. Stir carbonated drinks extra gently to retain its sparkle.

Shaking

The cocktail is mixed by hand in a cocktail shaker. The shaker is first filled three quarters with ice, preferably cubes, as crushed ice will tend to melt and dilute the cocktail. The ingredients are then poured on top of the ice, in order of alcohol content (highest first). When shaking a cocktail, hold the shaker in both hands, one hand on the top and the other supporting the base of the shaker, and shake vigorously. When water has begun condensing on the outside of the shaker, the cocktail is sufficiently chilled, and the cocktail should immediately be strained into the glass. In general, shaking creates a colder cocktail than stirring does, but also a more cloudy one.

1. Always add the ice in the shaker first,
2. Add all ingredients other than liquor next so they properly chill
3. Add liquor last to avoid dilution

Drinks that contain ingredients that are hard to mix should be shaken. Extra difficult to mix drinks like those with cream, eggs, fruit juice, ect. will need to be shaken vigorously.

To make cocktails, lowballs, and other shaken or stirred drinks, fill shaker half-full of ice. For lowballs, fill the glass about half-full of ice before pouring drink.

Blending
A Blender can be used for making frozen cocktails or to blend ingredients that can not be mixed otherwise like fruit.

An electric blender is used to mix fruit juices, alcohol, fruit, etc. Blending is an excellent way of mixing ingredients which do not blend easily in any other way. Blend the cocktail till it has reached a smooth consistency. If the recipe requires ice, add crushed ice last, but be careful not to add too much, as the cocktail may be watered down. Blending is a much disputed method of mixing a cocktail, and in general, blending should be avoided unless the recipe demands it.

To make blended drinks, first fill blender half-full of ice. If necessary, add more ice as you are blending.

Most shaken drinks which contain light cream can also be made as blended drinks, substituting vanilla ice cream for the light cream.

Building / Floating

When building a cocktail, the ingredients are poured into the glass in which the cocktail will be served. Usually, the ingredients are floated on top of each other, but occasionally, a swizzle stick is put in the glass, allowing the ingredients to be mixed.

Floating (sometimes referred to as layering) is keeping drink ingredients seperate in levels so they do not mix. This is best accomplished by using a demitasse spoon or a turtle spoon and slowly trickling the ingredients over the back over the spoon into the glass.

For help creating layered drinks refer to the Layering Gravity Chart

Muddling
Muddling is a simple mashing technique for grinding herbs, such as mint, smooth in the bottom of a glass. You can use a wooden muddler that you buy in a bar supply store or buy a bar spoon with a muddler on the end. It crushes the herbs, much as the back of a soup spoon might, without scaring the glass.
Decorating
Almost all cocktails are decorated in one way or another, most often with some kind of fruit, but no matter the exact decoration, cocktail sticks are almost always invaluable. Cocktail sticks come in two types; Wooden and plastic. Wooden sticks are most often used, and are suited for just about any kind of cocktail, but they cannot be reused. Plastic sticks, however, should be carefully used, as they tend to give the cocktail a slightly artificial appearance. Unlike wooden sticks, plastic ones can be reused, but should be carefully washed and boiled first.

Cocktail sticks are, whatever the type, used for spearing slices of fruit, cherries, and just about anything else you care to decorate your cocktails with. Straws are also essential and go well with highballs. Straws should not be reused. The traditional cocktail garnish is, however, the red Maraschino cherries. These are used in just about any kind of cocktail, and are now also available in green, yellow and blue. In addition to this, slices of fruit, strips of orange or lemon peel, mint twigs, etc. can also be used.

Frosting

Frosting leaves an edge of sugar, salt, cocoa, or any other fine powder, on the rim of the glass.

There are several ways to frost glasses, and one of the most common is to rub the rim of the glass with a slice of orange or lemon, then submerge the rim in sugar or salt (or any other powder), just so that it lines the top of the rim. Other methods use egg white or other substances for 'gluing' the powder to the glass. For a more colorful frosting, use small drops of food coloring in the powder. With some cocktails, such as the Margarita, frosting is a 'standard' decoration.

This is not to be confused with Frosting a glass by putting it in a freezer, like a frosted beer mug.