Salt

A pinch of salt does for cocktails what it does for food — it suppresses bitterness and amplifies other flavors. The classic Margarita gets a salt rim, and a Salty Dog does the same with grapefruit and vodka. To rim a glass properly, rub a lime wedge around the edge, then dip only the outside into a plate of coarse salt — you don’t want salt falling into the drink. Some bartenders add a tiny pinch of saline solution (salt dissolved in water) directly to cocktails to round them out. Use kosher or flaky sea salt, never iodized table salt.

Last modified on September 24, 2026