Cocktail glassware, jiggers and measures
Which glass each drink needs and why, chilling glasses, and how ml, oz, dashes and barspoons compare.
Glass shape is practical. Drinks served without ice need a stem, so your hand does not warm them; drinks with ice need a thick base and room for the ice.
The glasses
- Coupe and Nick & Nora
- Stemmed, for drinks served "up" (cold, without ice). Harder to spill than the V-shaped cocktail glass. 150–200 ml.
- Rocks (old fashioned)
- Short and heavy, for spirit-forward drinks over ice. 250–300 ml; a double rocks holds about 350 ml.
- Highball and Collins
- Tall and narrow, for long drinks with a mixer. The Collins is taller and slimmer.
- Flute and wine glass
- For sparkling drinks and spritzes.
Chill glasses for any drink served up: ten minutes in the freezer, or fill them with ice and water while you mix and empty them just before you strain.
Measuring
Measure every time. A jigger with two cups, such as 30 and 60 ml or 25 and 50 ml, is the only tool you truly need beyond a shaker.
| Measure | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz (bar convention) | 30 ml | 1 oz (strictly 29.57 ml) |
| Half measure | 15 ml | ½ oz |
| Three-quarters | 22.5 ml | ¾ oz |
| Barspoon | about 5 ml | about 1 tsp |
| Dash (bitters bottle) | about 0.8 ml | about ⅙ tsp |
Recipes on this site are written in millilitres; the ml / oz switch at the top of every page converts them using 30 ml to the ounce, rounded to the nearest eighth of an ounce, which is how bartenders work. The difference from the exact figure is under 2%.