An orange twist is a strip of orange peel squeezed over the surface of a drink so that its oil sprays across the top, then twisted and dropped in or hung on the rim. The oil is the point: a Breakfast Gimlet or a Grand Fizz smells of fresh orange before you taste anything, and the twist in the glass keeps the aroma coming.

What is an orange twist, as a garnish?

A piece of orange zest, an inch or two long and a half-inch wide, taken with a peeler or a channel knife with as little white pith as possible, held skin-side down over the drink and bent sharply so the oil in the skin bursts out across the surface, then twisted into a spiral (the "twist") and placed in the glass or on the rim. Orange peel has been a cocktail garnish since the Old Fashioned of the 1860s and became the signature of the Martini's cousins in the 1930s; a twist is the garnish for drinks that want orange aroma without orange juice, which is most stirred drinks with sweet vermouth, bitters or orange liqueur in them, and many citrus sours where the twist lifts the fruit. A lemon twist does the same job with a sharper, cleaner oil; the two are not interchangeable, and a recipe that says orange means orange. The difference between a twist and a plain peel is the twisting itself, which both releases more oil and makes the spiral that sits prettily on the drink.

How to use it

Use a firm, unwaxed orange with bright skin (navels are best). Take a strip with a Y-peeler, pressing lightly so you get zest and the least pith; trim the edges straight with a knife if you want it neat. Hold it two inches above the drink, skin side towards the glass, and pinch it sharply between thumb and fingers; you will see the oil mist in the light and smell it instantly. Rub the skin around the rim if you like, then twist it lengthwise into a curl and drop it in, or hang it over the edge. Cut twists to order; the oil fades within minutes of cutting. For a highball or a fizz, a long spiral cut with a channel knife and wound around a straw or a spoon handle looks dramatic. For a flamed peel, see flamed orange peel.

Substitutes

A lemon twist, for a sharper, more neutral citrus oil. A grapefruit twist, bigger and more bitter, on anything with gin or mezcal. A dash of orange bitters stirred in, which gives orange without the garnish. An orange wheel or wedge, which gives juice and looks but no oil. A flamed orange peel, where the drink is brown and spirit-forward.

Cocktails with an orange twist

The gin drinks: the Breakfast Gimlet and the Breakfast Gin Fizz. The orange-liqueur one: the Grand Fizz. The mezcal one: the Mezcal Corpse Reviver. Every drink that takes an orange twist is listed below, and nearly every drink filed under orange peel is the same garnish by another name.

Questions

Twist or peel? Same thing: a peel becomes a twist when you twist it. Both are expressed over the drink first.

Do I drop it in? Usually, in a stirred drink. On a rim for a highball. Out entirely if the recipe says "discard".

Why does mine taste bitter? Too much pith. Peel lightly and trim the white.

Can I cut them ahead? No; the oil is gone within minutes. Peel as you serve.

Which orange? A firm navel with bright, unwaxed skin. Blood oranges give a red twist and a slightly sharper oil.