Okay, in a lot of cases it makes sense, but too many times I’ve asked for a vodka tonic, gin tonic, barcardi coke…whatever and I’ll watch as the bartender pours the liquor into the jigger (and without stopping) pours the jigger into the glass and continues pouring the liquor? Any reason for that? Just for show? Is he aiming for two ounces and the jigger just gives him a feel for how long one ounce takes to pour (and the he holds the bottle inverted for the same amount of time)? And some of these people have been tending bar longer then I’ve been alive. You’d think by now they could pour a jigger to within a few milliliters with all their expierence.
It is usually bar policy. It either shows the customer he is getting his rightful dose of liquor or the place is micromanaged and wants to control liquor flow. Any bartender who has been on the job more than a day can poor liquor by count. That is what the bottle spouts are designed for.
A jigger is an 1.5 oz, which is more or less the standard amount for a mixed drink. Using the jigger shows the customer he’s getting what he’s suppose to get plus a little “extra.”
Agreed. The bartender was making a show of conforming to policy without actually doing it.
The pouring extra is an old trick they teach you in bartender school- you short the jigger and then pour the rest in afterwards, making the customer think you are giving them extra out of the goodness of you heart (and hopefully encouraging a big tip).
I’m wondering if this a law in Texas. Every bar I’ve been to here has the bartender using the jigger. I’ve seen it in other states, but not at every bar.
Or they could use a measured pourer:
Or they could use an ‘optic’
Highly likely. For instance, in the UK spirits:
From uk [trading standards](www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/ milton-keynes/E08%20Alcohol%20Law.pdf) (PDF Alert!)
So I believe it’s illegal to just pour it out. Of course, the law tends to be much more concerned with short measures than over measures, for obvious reasons, so no-one is going to complain if you get a bit more than you paid for…
Jiggers can be bought in various sizes, but 1.5 oz is the most common.
Many bars calculate liquor yields—the total amount of ounces sold divided by 1.5 (oz) divided by drinks sold. If the number is 1 (it never is) than the average pour was 1.5 oz. Generally the number is less than one—meaning that due to overpour, theft, and waste, the ounces (liters) used deviated from what the cash register suggested.
Some deviation is to be expected, and bar prices reflect the real world yield. But…when the yield is outside of the norm it indicates theft (sometimes right out of the liquor room into someone’s trunk), overpouring (currying favors from cuties or buddies at the bar), theft (underringing, skimming) or waste.
There’s no law requiring it to my knowledge, but liquor is so carefully taxed and regulated many bars treat jiggers as mandatory. Read this administrative law opinion for way more than you’d ever want to know on the matter.
Additionally, Texas has some aggressive dram shop acts and liabilities for overserving that the use of jiggers is a good defense against. “We only served him three drinks before he plowed his car into the orphanage” is a much easier argument to make if you can show exactly how much goes into each drink you serve.