The essence of every drink, of course, is to transport the booze from its original bottle into another vessel. Traditionally, this is known as pouring. But you can’t just go tipping one end up and hoping for the best. Drink recipes are delicate things. Here are three ways to make sure you don’t pour too little or too much.
1. THE JIGGER
This is where you actually use bar tools to accurately and safely measure each and every lousy shot. For losers and bartenders at T.G.I. Friday’s only. Let’s move on.
2. THE TWO FINGERS
Need to pour 11/2 ounces of booze and don’t want to play around with one of those jigger deals? Some pros use the two fingers method. Wrap your index and middle fingers around the bottom of the glass and stop pouring when the level reaches the tops of your fingers. If you’re Calista Flockhart, you can go a little over your finger mark. If you’re John Goodman, a little below. Experiment. You’ll get it right. Or very drunk.
3. THE COUNT
Most bartenders, however, use the count method. First, you need one of those speed pourers-the silver tops that fit onto your bottles and guide the booze into a nice, consistent stream, otherwise it would splash all over your shirt. Next, fill an empty bottle of booze with tap water, then fill a highball glass two-thirds of the way with ice. Now pour the water into the glass, with the bottle completely upsidedown– none of that half-assed, tilted-part-of-the-way stuff. As the water is pouring, count off in your head: one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, stop. Roughly, you should have poured an ounce and a half. Check your measurements and try again and again until your counting matches the flowing water. (Why do you think you’re using water?) This is extremely impressive to the opposite sex, especially those still attending high school.
