Cocktail and Bar Measurements
The cocktail recipes you find at Drinknation.com are all based on the imperial standard of measurement that is used pretty much only by the United States. However, we've made it so that you, the thirsty global citizen, can see our recipes in all their international SI glory. You can set your display settings accordingly in your account settings if you've registered a username. This is a list of the conversion factors we use. Note that they are not precise in many cases, but it is easier to deal with 1 oz. converting to 3 cL rather than 2.957353 cL.
Some common terms and their measurements
| Term | Imperial | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Shot | 1 1/2 oz. | 4.5 cL |
| Jigger | 1 1/2 oz. | 4.5 cL |
| Cup | 8 oz. | 24 cL |
| Tablespoon (tbsp.) | 1/2 oz. | 15 mL |
| Gallon | 128 oz. | 3.8 L |
| Quart | 1/4 gallon or 32 oz. | ~ 1 L |
| Fifth | 1/5 gallon or ~26 oz. | 0.75 L |
| Dash or Splash | 1/32 oz. (see below) | (see below) |
Parts
Many recipes call for ingredients measured in "parts". This is simply a relative measurement, often used for mixing large batches of drinks at once. If the recipe calls for 1 part of ingredient A, and 2 parts of ingredient B, then you would use twice as much of ingredient B.
For example, say you're making Caramel Apple Martinis:
- 2 parts Schnapps, butterscotch
- 2 parts Sour Apple Pucker
- 1 part Vodka
You need to put in twice as much Schnapps and Sour Apple as Vodka. If you decide that you just want to make a single drink, you could make "one part" here be 0.5oz, giving you 2.5oz total (0.5 oz Vodka, 1 oz Schnapps, 1 oz. Sour Apple Pucker).
Alternatively, if you're making a batch of them, you might put in 3oz of vodka and 6oz of the other two and pour 5 or 6 drinks at once.
The key is simply that the "parts" are relative to each other - keep the ratio the same and you can use any amount you want.
Shot Glasses
A proper shot glass is 1.5 oz., but many bars use "pony shots", which are only 1 oz. A double shot glass holds 3 ounces.
Dash or Splash
These are terms that simply refer to small amounts. When you are using dashes or splashes, you are flavouring a cocktail for taste, so it becomes a bit of a judgement call. Don't go overboard, but make sure you use enough to be noticed. A splash is a little more than a dash, and generally involves less viscous liquids such as mixers, whereas dashes are used with stronger flavourings, such as tabasco.