Just like any trade or art, there are tools we need to successfully complete the job assigned. Take an acrylic painter, for example. Their brush, is our jigger. Although the jigger doesn’t constitute nor represent the WHOLE arsenal of a bartender, you get the point. A jigger is extremely important for bartenders to be extremely consistent behind the bar. ESPECIALLY when playing with mixology, and tweaking your own original recipes, jiggers are crucial. Here’s why.
PRECISION
Now, jiggers aren’t ONLY way to mix drinks and to measure out ingredients, let me just get that clear. However, it is highly recommended to stay consistent behind the bar. There are many people out there, other bartenders that insist on “free pouring”, which is a technique where a drink is mixed only by SEEING the drink or even “FEELING” the pours. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a certain art to free pouring. I will explain more about it, how to use it, and when, in another post. For now though, jiggers are the focus!
A jigger is simply a small (usually metal) measuring device used behind the bar. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most standard measurements for jiggers are: 2oz, 1.5oz, 0.75oz, 0.5oz, and 0.25oz. Sometimes we can find a “1/3oz” on some jiggers, although it is a bit rare. The best, in my opinion are called the “Japanese jiggers”, which are jiggers that have the 2 ounce pour on one end (a longer end) and a 1 ounce/0.75 ounce/0.5 ounce measurement on the other end (shorter that the other half. The jigger has been amazing for us behind the bar because of its compact size, easy clean-up, and precision when measuring.
So whenever you see yourself in a position to make a cocktail, do your best to measure it out! Just like with any recipe, consistency is key. The way to achieve this consistency is with a jigger.
CONSISTENT RESULTS, THE SAME COCKTAIL EVERY TIME
Here is a great example, for the professional bartenders out there/people who strive to be bartenders: imagine you are working your shift and get an order for TEN cosmopolitans! What will you do? How could you get them all out on time without mistakes? More importantly, if they are all going to the same table/group of guests, will each and every cosmopolitan have the same flavor profile?
Now, I know that many times in the thrill of the moment, we cannot or DO NOT think about these things during a busy rush. I am guilty of this too, because there have definitely been times where I just pour everything quickly without regarding what the outcome would be… just GET THE DRINKS OUT!
But, if we use the jigger and potentially “double up” in our shakers (pour twice the amount in our shakers to make up for the volume that we are putting out. Example: 2oz is typically the measurement for ONE Cosmo. In this case, we would use 4oz to make TWO Cosmos at once), we can remain a bit more calm and collected because we know where we are going. There is a strength in using jiggers because it allow us to remain all the more consistent and bang out those drinks with confidence that they will all taste the same (that means, no drinks will come back and we have to make them twice!).
With that being said, I know free pouring for some bartenders is a “convenience” due to the reasoning that pouring into a jigger “slows them down”. I respect that thought process, really. But, I can bet my money that between a bartender using jiggers and a bartender using the free pouring technique, the cosmopolitans will NOT turn out to be all the same. Its just the reality. If there is already enough human error in this world, what makes us think that it can get any better without measurement??
HISTORY OF THE JIGGER
A brief history of the jigger, and why it is even called “jigger”.
There are two big explanations (theories) that float around in popular drink culture and history:
- The name comes from the word “jiggermast” which was the final mast on the old British Naval ships (the first mast was called the “foremast”, the second and main was called the “main mast”, the third was called the “mizzen mast” and the last the “jiggermast” which was the smallest of them all at the back of the ship. A bit of nautical history doesn’t hurt!).
- Another explanation comes from Dave Wondrich, great cocktail historian. He says the word originated from the American way of saying “thingamajig” to describe something with no real name. A quite simplistic way of looking at it but hey, the best things in life (and the hardest to get right) are the simplest, right?
I hope that serves as a guide as to what a jigger is, and why it is like a samurai sword for us bartenders behind the bar. It allows us to get the work done promptly, and decisively.
Happy jiggering!
Jonathan Echavarria 