adjective
neat
Served without ice, water, or a mixer.
She orders her bourbon neat, with nothing added to it.
Etymology
The older adjective means clean or pure. Applied to liquor, purity becomes freedom from added water, ice, or other ingredients.
More examples
- Do you prefer your whiskey neat or over ice?
- The bartender serves the brandy neat in a small glass.
- He enjoys sipping neat rum after dinner.
Forms
neat
Similar words
- straight
- Can mean unmixed, though serving conventions sometimes allow chilling.
- undiluted
- Excludes added liquid but does not necessarily exclude ice.