C120 words · Advanced

Drinks vocabulary — C1

Drinks vocabulary for talking about beverages with precision, covering how a barista percolates coffee and a sommelier might decant a vintage wine with tannin and sediment.

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Words in this set

beverage
/ˈbɛvərɪdʒ/
A hot or cold drink, in the formal wording of menus, hotels and airlines.
Example: Would you like a hot beverage with your meal?
quench
/kwɛntʃ/
To take away your thirst completely by drinking something.
Example: Nothing quenches a thirst like ice-cold lemonade.
vintage
/ˈvɪntɪdʒ/
Made from the grapes of one particular year, and usually a good one.
Example: That's a very good vintage, one of their best.
swig
/swɪɡ/
A large mouthful of a drink taken straight from the bottle in one quick go.
Example: He took a long swig of water after the run.
carafe
/kəˈræf/
An open glass jug with a wide body and narrow neck, used to serve wine or water at a table.
Example: We ordered a carafe of the house red.
decant
/dəˈkænt/
to pour a drink, especially wine, from its bottle into another container before serving.
Example: The waiter will decant the wine at the table.
tannin
a natural substance in tea and red wine that gives a dry, slightly bitter taste.
Example: The red wine had a strong tannin taste.
infusion
/ˌɪnˈfjuʒən/
a drink made by soaking something like herbs or tea leaves in hot water.
Example: She sipped a herbal infusion before bed.
barista
/bɑˈristə/
a person who makes and serves coffee in a coffee shop.
Example: The barista drew a leaf pattern in the foam.
percolate
/ˈpɜrkəˌleɪt/
when a liquid, especially coffee, passes slowly through a filter to make a drink.
Example: The smell of coffee began to percolate through the kitchen.
effervescent
/ˌɛfərˈvɛsənt/
Giving off small bubbles of gas.
Example: The tablet turns effervescent the moment it hits water.
nectar
/ˈnɛktər/
A thick sweet fruit drink, or the sweet liquid in flowers.
Example: Apricot nectar is far too sweet to drink cold.
brewer
/ˈbruər/
Someone whose job is making beer.
Example: The brewer changed the recipe and lost half his customers.
cellar
/ˈsɛlər/
An underground room where wine is stored.
Example: The cellar holds four hundred bottles at a steady temperature.
sediment
/ˈsɛdəmənt/
Solid material that settles at the bottom of a bottle.
Example: Pour slowly and leave the sediment behind in the bottle.
hydrate
/ˈhaɪˌdreɪt/
To give the body the water it needs.
Example: Runners are told to hydrate before, not during, the race.
intoxicated
/ɪnˈtɑksəˌkeɪtɪd/
Drunk.
Example: He was too intoxicated to remember which hotel he was in.
decanter
A glass bottle that wine is poured into before serving.
Example: The decanter had been in the family longer than the house.
teetotaller
Someone who never drinks alcohol.
Example: As a lifelong teetotaller he had never once been in the pub.
aperitif hour
The time before dinner when people have a light drink.
Example: They keep the aperitif hour to exactly forty minutes.