On the rocks

Serving instruction

On the rocks means a spirit or drink poured over ice cubes in a short glass, so it stays cold as you sip.

Also called: over ice

Ice: Cubes in the glass, the drink poured over them
Glass: Rocks glass (old fashioned glass)
Typical spirit pour: 1.5 to 2 oz (44 to 60 ml)

What On the rocks means

Ask for a whiskey on the rocks and it arrives poured over ice cubes in a rocks glass. The name is literal. The drink goes on the ice, which bartenders call the rocks. The ice keeps the drink cold. It also melts into the spirit, so the taste shifts the longer you sip. A typical pour is 1.5 to 2 oz (44 to 60 ml).

Three other orders sound close to it. Neat has no ice at all. Up means the drink was chilled with ice, then strained into a stemmed glass, so no ice comes along. Straight up is the tricky one. It usually means neat, but some bartenders read it as up. It never means on the rocks.

It is easy to assume on the rocks gives you more alcohol. It does not. The pour matches a neat order. What changes is the water. Ice melts as you drink, so the drink gets weaker over time. Shaken drinks such as a Margarita can be ordered on the rocks too, strained over fresh ice.

How to order a drink on the rocks

Name the spirit or drink first, then add the words on the rocks.

Bourbon on the rocks.About 1.5 to 2 oz (44 to 60 ml) of bourbon poured over ice cubes in a rocks glass.
Negroni on the rocks.A Negroni poured over ice cubes in a rocks glass, with the ice slowly diluting it as you sip.
Margarita on the rocks.A shaken Margarita strained over fresh ice in a rocks glass, with no shaker ice in the drink.

On the rocks compared

NeatNeat is the spirit at room temperature with no ice in the glass. On the rocks is the same spirit poured over ice.
UpUp is chilled with ice, then strained into a stemmed glass, so no ice stays in the drink. On the rocks keeps the ice.
Straight upStraight up is ambiguous. It usually means neat, sometimes up, and it never means on the rocks.
HighballA highball is a spirit over ice topped with a larger amount of mixer. On the rocks has no added mixer.

Related terms

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