Cocktail Conversions

I saw a recipe the other day that called for 2 double shots of gin and 1/2 a double shot of simple syrup... What what? Seriously though, what does that mean? Are you using a 2 ounce shot glass as a double? Or are you doubling up single shots? The first would be 4 ounces gin, 1 ounce syrup, the latter would be 6 ounces gin, 1.5 ounces syrup.

While I understand that people want to make recipes accessible regardless of bar material, this just looked odd. I always do my drink recipes in ounces and seeing things measured in "double shots" got me thinking... maybe I am the confusing one. Maybe people don't want to use ounces or it's annoying because they don't have the same tools as me. Hmm.

Then I had an idea. Let's do some ounce conversions for amounts usually seen in the bar using only regular measuring cups and spoons. There is a small amount of rounding here on the 1/3 cup, which is actually 2.6666666 ounces. I'm going to let that one slide. I don't think you'll be knocked off your chair by adding .16666 ounce more to your drink since 2.5 ounces of anything is usually a mixer. BUT if you really really think that is not cool, you can pour 1/3 cup and dip in a teaspoon to subtract that .1666666 ounce. Yup, that is how many ounces there are in a teaspoon. Which also means a teaspoon is 1/3 of a tablespoon! Getting down to it...

1/2 TABLESPOON	1/4 OUNCE
1 TABLESPOON	1/2 OUNCE
1 TRADITIONAL SHOT GLASS	1 1/2 OUNCES
1/4 CUP	2 OUNCES
1/3 CUP	~2.5 OUNCES

Now using two measuring cups, two measuring spoons and a shot glass we can measure from 1/4 ounce up to as many 1/3 cups as you are willing to fill and add up. ~48 times and you'd have a gallon. 

1/4 OUNCE	1/2 TABLESPOON
1/2 OUNCE	1 TABLESPOON
1 OUNCE	2 TABLESPOONS
1.5 OUNCES	SHOT GLASS OR 3 TABLESPOONS
2 OUNCES	1/4 CUP OR 1 SHOT GLASS + 1 TABLESPOON
2.5 OUNCES	1/3 CUP OR 1/4 CUP + 1 TABLESPOON
3 OUNCES	1/3 CUP + 1 TABLESPOON OR 2 SHOT GLASSES

ETC ETC on and on forever. Cool right?! You don't need specialized tools to follow a recipe in ounces. Most bar books and bar sites online will use ounces, but if you see a "jigger" don't panic. You can assume that is equal to a typical 1.5 ounce shot. See a "pony"? It's safe to assume that is 1 ounce. There is no standard to shot glasses, doubles, jiggers, or ponies. That is why it's sooo much better to just use ounces which are standard and allow you to replicate a drink as closely to the recipe possible*!


*Except for when I see 3/4 ounces in a drink, come on dudes... cut us a break and commit to 1 ounce. I usually just eye ball that or round that up depending on what it is...