Why Jiggers Matter: A Bartender’s Humbling First Shift
- Sep 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 30
The G&T That Shattered My Ego
I remember the first time I stepped behind the bar. My manager asked me to make a G&T, and I replied, “Sure, boss!” I grabbed a bottle of Beefeater gin and started pouring straight into the glass, feeling like the bull’s left nut — an indestructible cocktail-making machine.
Mid-pour, my manager shouted across the bar, “Dude, what the hell are you doing?”I casually replied, “Making the best G&T Denmark has ever seen.”
He walked over silently, picked up a cocktail jigger, and poured the gin from the glass into it. As the liquid overflowed past the 5cl mark, my ego crashed faster than the 2008 stock market.
Jiggers: The Unsung Heroes of Consistency
Jiggers come in all shapes and sizes, but they serve one purpose: consistency. When I started bartending, I had zero clue what I was doing. My previous experience was pouring cheap beer in a party hostel and shaking up sugary espresso martinis from a premix bottle.
My manager explained that free pouring is a hard skill — one that takes time and precision to master. And more importantly, we weren’t a free-pour bar. I nodded, apologized, and swallowed my pride. The job mattered more than my ego.
After my shift (which I miraculously survived), my manager invited me for a beer. I was hyped — free drinks, let’s gooo! But the conversation turned back to the free-pour incident. I tried to brush it off, saying no one cared at my old jobs.
He replied, “At this bar, we care. A jigger is a tool of consistency — and consistency is everything.”
The Daiquiri Dilemma
Let’s say you walk into a bar and order a Daiquiri. The bartender free pours it, and it’s the best you’ve ever had. You ask for the specs: 6:3:1.5. You’re blown away.
Next day, same bar, different bartender. You order the same drink. You’re excited, ready to relive the magic. But the drink tastes completely different. You ask for the specs, still 6:3:1.5.
So what happened? Human error.
My manager asked, “Would you come back to that bar not knowing who’s working?”I said, “Nope. Not worth the gamble.”
“That’s why we use jiggers,” he said. “They help us stay consistent. But even with jiggers, bartenders can make mistakes.”
Common Jigger Mistakes (How to Fix Them)
1. Not All Jiggers Are Created Equal
I’ve worked in bars with all kinds of jiggers. Here are the most common sizes:
Small jiggers: 2cl/4cl
Standard jiggers: 2.5cl/5cl
Large jiggers (my favorite): 3cl/6cl
There’s no wrong size — as long as they’re accurate. But I like to break them into two categories:
Visual Jiggers: Have etched measurements inside (per centiliter or millimeter).
Blind Jiggers: No markings. You just know the small side is 3cl and the large side is 6cl.
If you need to pour 1.5cl with a blind jigger, you’re guessing. My hack? Use a precision scale. Since 1cl of water weighs 10g, I’d weigh out common specs before each shift — 1.5cl = 15g, 2.25cl = 22.5g — to train my eyes to recognize those levels.
2. Tilting the Jigger
Another common mistake? Not holding the jigger straight.
I learned this the hard way. My drinks kept coming up short compared to our menu tastings. I blamed my shaking and stirring technique. Eventually, I asked my manager what was wrong.
He told me to measure 4cl of water in my jigger, then place it on a flat surface. Turns out, my 4cl pour was actually 3.25cl — all because I tilted the jigger away from me. Tilting it toward you causes overpouring.
So always hold your jigger straight, and don’t be afraid to test yourself once in a while by placing it on the counter after pouring.
Final Thoughts
Thanks for sticking with me and my chaotic writing. I hope this made some sense of why we use jiggers behind the bar and the common mistakes to avoid.
I’m no expert — just a bartender sharing his journey. Take it all with a grain of salt.
See you on my next train of thought.
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