confectioner’s sugar

Powdered sugar is a highly refined sugar ground into a fine powder, generally with added corn starch to prevent clumping. Powdered sugar is most visibly employed as a dusting on sweet baked goods. In cocktails, it can be used in the preparation of glasses and garnishes. Powdered sugar is strongly discouraged for use in directly sweetening cocktails as it nearly always creates a gritty texture. IMPORTANT: Often, particularly in older bar guides, “powdered sugar” is actually a reference to what is now called “superfine sugar”, which has excellent dilution qualities as opposed to confectioner’s sugar.