mist is a way of serving a drink in a rocks glass over finely crushed or shaved ice, instead of whole cubes. A mist is typically just a single spirit and not a mixed drink (mixed drinks and liqueurs served in this method are often called frappés). See frappe. In a mist, the crushed ice provides a faster, deeper chill and dilutes the spirits a little further, making the drink more refreshing than just a spirit served neat. While the practice dates back to the early nineteenth century (when a spirit thus served was sometimes known as a hailstorm), it only returned into vogue in the early 1940s with the Scotch Mist, from which the category’s name is derived. See Hailstorm.
Haimo, Oscar. Cocktail Digest (from Private Notes). New York: Oscar Haimo, 1943.
Herbst, Sharon Tyler, and Ron Herbst. The Ultimate A-to-Z Bar Guide. New York: Broadway, 1998.
By: Robert Hess