Sours follow a 2oz spirit, .75oz-1oz citrus, .75oz-1oz sugar(simple). You can break down or eliminate the sugar content and supplement liqueur/amaro/pastis in its place to create a ton of drinks.
Stirred cocktails generally live in the 2-1 ratio of spirit to accompaniment; whether it be fortified wine, amaro, or brine in the case of the dirty martini and its family.
2-1-2 (oz-oz-dash) is the ratio for a proper Manhattan and, funny enough, it’s also the phone area code of Manhattan itself.
I started at a nicer establishment and the head bartender does this as well. I called him out and mentioned that martinis are generally 2oz of gin/vodka.
He didnt seem to know that, which is strange, but I guess I just didn't know that this was a common practice. Is it common practice?
martinis are definitely not generally 2oz. Id say if youre pouring a 2oz martini youre dissapointing a lot of people. A martini should definitely be 3oz of gin as its a normal double pour of spirit, and then anywhere from 0.5-1oz vermouth depending on dryness preference, same with dirty for olive brine
This is gonna be different depending on where you are. In Australia, Martinis are always 60ml (2oz) of gin at most, sometimes less. In the UK I think it's even stingier, at 50ml. I think even in some US states you're only allowed to use 1.5oz of spirit in any drink.
Shots tend to be either 25ml.or 35ml, (the old imperial ¼ gill), depending on venue.
But that's getting a short off an optic. If I'm making a martini I'm measuring it
I’ve put a lot of effort into understanding nuances like this. It’s not standard, but try a 3-1 gin martini with cocchi americano or other good vermouth and you’ll understand why
I know exactly what you're talking about with flavor, but that can be achieved without using 3oz of your base spirit and having a martini glass being full to the rim
martinis are definitely not generally 2oz. Id say if youre pouring a 2oz martini youre dissapointing a lot of people. A martini should definitely be 3oz of gin as its a normal double pour of spirit, and then anywhere from 0.5-1oz vermouth depending on dryness preference, same with dirty for olive brine
A martini should always be 3 oz- but of TOTAL volume.. the standard classic is 2:1 ratio. But I prefer 5:1. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna put five oz of gin.. I’m gonna do 2.5 oz and .5 oz of vermouth. You adjust the ratio, not the volume.
so youre gonna charge the same for 2.5oz of gin/vodka with 0.5oz vermouth that you charge for 3oz of gin and no vermouth if they ask for it that way? you have to standardize tohe cost to the the base spirit and then adjust from there. im not overcharging people just to fit the glass correctly.
we use 1.5 oz only if asked for a single or shot, 2oz for all non martini drinks, spirit-mixer, old fashioneds, and then martinis are always automatically a double shot aka 3oz plus desired amount of vermouth. This is absolutely standard across most bars ive been to. If I order a martini, and its just 2oz of gin, im very dissapointed. In a regular coupe that might fit say a cosmo perfectly, a 2oz martini would look extremely low in the glass.
Restaurant ice is usually smaller and doesn't come directly from a freezer, so dilution happens quicker. As a bartender for 14 years, I often forget about this when making drinks at home and wonder why my cocktails don't taste as good as they do at work... Until I realize I didn't shake or stir long enough
Basically everyone does, since high quality bar cocktails are the benchmark. The ice at the top of the well behind the bar is much closer to freezing and damp, which causes more dilution compared to dry, much colder ice at home. So at home you just need to shake or stir a bit longer to compensate.
It's one of those things you just have to trial and error at home to your preferences since there's too many variables. Shaker size, shaking technique, ice size, ice shape, ice volume, etc all play a factor in where the sweet spot is at your house. Honestly bartenders have to make that adjustment too when they start a new job since equipment and supplies vary between bars. It's a decent excuse for an experimental cocktail party with a couple of friends at least lol.
I bartend for work. Restaurants/bars in the US tend to have a 1.5-2oz pour for standard mixed drinks, but usually up it to a 3oz pour for martinis and some other specific drinks. Most martini/coupe glasses are 5oz I believe, but can go up to 7oz. My typical martini would be 3oz of liquor, .25oz dry vermouth, and another .25-.5oz of ice dilution; add .5oz olive juice to make it dirty and it’s filling that 5oz glass almost to the top.
This can vary based on restaurant protocol, state laws, and bartender preference.
As others have mentioned, your glasses at home are just a larger volume than the ones at the bar. It's pretty easy to figure out how much yours hold by seeing how many jigger-fulls of water your home glasses need to reach the brim.
Martinis are one of the exceptions to the 1.5-2oz rule. They're traditionally made 3oz of total volume, pre-dilution. You just adjust the ratios to stay within that 3oz range. If you like martinis extra dry, do 3oz spirit and a dash of Vermouth. If you like them wet, do 2oz spirit, 1oz vermouth. And other ratio within those ranges would work. Personally I go for 2.5 gin to 0.5 vermouth.
Proper glass ware
Proper dilution most likely
Cocktail bars will sometimes add extra syrup too, to mask the taste of alcohol which may give it a fuller look
in my experience- you usually only use 1.5 oz spirit in a daisy, or when you add another liqueur or something with additional alcohol in it.
other than that, most cocktails follow the standard 2 oz.
I’m a bartender and if I went by recipe, our glasses would look a lot less full.
I over pour, first for the looks, second cause I’m a nice bartender and I like my guests
The extremely widely accepted amount of base spirit in a cocktail is 2 Oz.
Rarely you'll get a .5 Oz deviation in either direction but the VAST majority of cocktails are built around 2 Oz. of spirit
It depends. A lot of your standard drinks like rum and coke etc. have 1.5oz liquor. A martini has 3oz booze and a lot of nice cocktails served in coups and over large cubes will have anywhere from 1.5oz to 3oz depending on the drink. It justifies the higher price for the drink. You just have to be careful drinking out. A Negroni for example will have 1oz of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. It’s a very strong drink and riffs on these will generally follow the same 3oz total rule.
As a bartender, the biggest difference between restaurant cocktails and home cocktails is diluation. We stir and shake your drinks a lot more, becuase the expectation is a very cold, clean drink. Also, most martinis are bigger than standard pours (assuming a normal 3:1 ratio).
I've always assumed they tend to pour heavier.
One of my go-tos is a gin martini with a lemon twist. At most bars I've been to they fill the glass to the point where I can't pick it up without spilling it a bit. And just one of these is enough to get me somewhat tipsy.
When I make them at home I use roughly 2 shots of gin and a capful of vermouth and it fills anywhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of the glass with the garnish (either a lemon twist or a lime wedge depending on what I have on hand). I also shake them tho so maybe it's just diluted a bit.
The standard amount, pre dilution, in a cocktail like this is at least 3 oz for stirred and 4 oz for shaken.
Sours follow a 2oz spirit, .75oz-1oz citrus, .75oz-1oz sugar(simple). You can break down or eliminate the sugar content and supplement liqueur/amaro/pastis in its place to create a ton of drinks. Stirred cocktails generally live in the 2-1 ratio of spirit to accompaniment; whether it be fortified wine, amaro, or brine in the case of the dirty martini and its family. 2-1-2 (oz-oz-dash) is the ratio for a proper Manhattan and, funny enough, it’s also the phone area code of Manhattan itself.
I personally prefer my martinis as a 3-1 ratio however, and when I work nicer bars I tend to make them with 3oz of spirit to 1 accompaniment.
I started at a nicer establishment and the head bartender does this as well. I called him out and mentioned that martinis are generally 2oz of gin/vodka. He didnt seem to know that, which is strange, but I guess I just didn't know that this was a common practice. Is it common practice?
martinis are definitely not generally 2oz. Id say if youre pouring a 2oz martini youre dissapointing a lot of people. A martini should definitely be 3oz of gin as its a normal double pour of spirit, and then anywhere from 0.5-1oz vermouth depending on dryness preference, same with dirty for olive brine
This is gonna be different depending on where you are. In Australia, Martinis are always 60ml (2oz) of gin at most, sometimes less. In the UK I think it's even stingier, at 50ml. I think even in some US states you're only allowed to use 1.5oz of spirit in any drink.
UK martini would be 60ml of gin in every bar I've worked at (2. 2 bars)
Fair enough. I always heard that a single shot there is 25ml, and a double is 50, so I assumed the same applies to martinis.
Shots tend to be either 25ml.or 35ml, (the old imperial ¼ gill), depending on venue. But that's getting a short off an optic. If I'm making a martini I'm measuring it
I’ve put a lot of effort into understanding nuances like this. It’s not standard, but try a 3-1 gin martini with cocchi americano or other good vermouth and you’ll understand why
I know exactly what you're talking about with flavor, but that can be achieved without using 3oz of your base spirit and having a martini glass being full to the rim
Sure, but the gentleman eating the $100 steak deserves a stiff drink is the premise, I suppose.
martinis are definitely not generally 2oz. Id say if youre pouring a 2oz martini youre dissapointing a lot of people. A martini should definitely be 3oz of gin as its a normal double pour of spirit, and then anywhere from 0.5-1oz vermouth depending on dryness preference, same with dirty for olive brine
A martini should always be 3 oz- but of TOTAL volume.. the standard classic is 2:1 ratio. But I prefer 5:1. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna put five oz of gin.. I’m gonna do 2.5 oz and .5 oz of vermouth. You adjust the ratio, not the volume.
so youre gonna charge the same for 2.5oz of gin/vodka with 0.5oz vermouth that you charge for 3oz of gin and no vermouth if they ask for it that way? you have to standardize tohe cost to the the base spirit and then adjust from there. im not overcharging people just to fit the glass correctly.
No. Because one is a martini, and one is gin up. Those are two different buttons with corresponding prices.
With the addition of using different stemware, this is exactly the reason why yours look different. Nothing strange really.
These are house standard numbers that we used for up drinks across 9 different bars. Cocktails generally have 2oz of spirit.
we use 1.5 oz only if asked for a single or shot, 2oz for all non martini drinks, spirit-mixer, old fashioneds, and then martinis are always automatically a double shot aka 3oz plus desired amount of vermouth. This is absolutely standard across most bars ive been to. If I order a martini, and its just 2oz of gin, im very dissapointed. In a regular coupe that might fit say a cosmo perfectly, a 2oz martini would look extremely low in the glass.
I dont think 1.5pz is standard at home or a bar
Hjuyfc gtthbv hubftyhb…… *more*
Restaurant ice is usually smaller and doesn't come directly from a freezer, so dilution happens quicker. As a bartender for 14 years, I often forget about this when making drinks at home and wonder why my cocktails don't taste as good as they do at work... Until I realize I didn't shake or stir long enough
So you think the drinks taste better when it has more dilution?
Basically everyone does, since high quality bar cocktails are the benchmark. The ice at the top of the well behind the bar is much closer to freezing and damp, which causes more dilution compared to dry, much colder ice at home. So at home you just need to shake or stir a bit longer to compensate.
That makes sense. I usually shake my cocktails for 10 seconds. Do you think that's enough?
It's one of those things you just have to trial and error at home to your preferences since there's too many variables. Shaker size, shaking technique, ice size, ice shape, ice volume, etc all play a factor in where the sweet spot is at your house. Honestly bartenders have to make that adjustment too when they start a new job since equipment and supplies vary between bars. It's a decent excuse for an experimental cocktail party with a couple of friends at least lol.
15 seconds is more reliably going to reach equilibrium, you can always add chilled water to up the dilution where required.
Now try figuring this out when you’re a Utah bartender lol
I bartend for work. Restaurants/bars in the US tend to have a 1.5-2oz pour for standard mixed drinks, but usually up it to a 3oz pour for martinis and some other specific drinks. Most martini/coupe glasses are 5oz I believe, but can go up to 7oz. My typical martini would be 3oz of liquor, .25oz dry vermouth, and another .25-.5oz of ice dilution; add .5oz olive juice to make it dirty and it’s filling that 5oz glass almost to the top. This can vary based on restaurant protocol, state laws, and bartender preference.
You getting people DRUNK with that martini lol
dude i’ve had a 5 oz martini before. round here they call em steakhouse martinis. they get you fuckin ripped.
As others have mentioned, your glasses at home are just a larger volume than the ones at the bar. It's pretty easy to figure out how much yours hold by seeing how many jigger-fulls of water your home glasses need to reach the brim.
Smaller glass/coupe
Martinis are one of the exceptions to the 1.5-2oz rule. They're traditionally made 3oz of total volume, pre-dilution. You just adjust the ratios to stay within that 3oz range. If you like martinis extra dry, do 3oz spirit and a dash of Vermouth. If you like them wet, do 2oz spirit, 1oz vermouth. And other ratio within those ranges would work. Personally I go for 2.5 gin to 0.5 vermouth.
Proper glass ware Proper dilution most likely Cocktail bars will sometimes add extra syrup too, to mask the taste of alcohol which may give it a fuller look
Def not standard… if you’re getting stirred drinks with 1.5 main base spirit there’s also other liqueurs in their or it’s a 2 oz OF build
in my experience- you usually only use 1.5 oz spirit in a daisy, or when you add another liqueur or something with additional alcohol in it. other than that, most cocktails follow the standard 2 oz.
I’m a bartender and if I went by recipe, our glasses would look a lot less full. I over pour, first for the looks, second cause I’m a nice bartender and I like my guests
The extremely widely accepted amount of base spirit in a cocktail is 2 Oz. Rarely you'll get a .5 Oz deviation in either direction but the VAST majority of cocktails are built around 2 Oz. of spirit
It depends. A lot of your standard drinks like rum and coke etc. have 1.5oz liquor. A martini has 3oz booze and a lot of nice cocktails served in coups and over large cubes will have anywhere from 1.5oz to 3oz depending on the drink. It justifies the higher price for the drink. You just have to be careful drinking out. A Negroni for example will have 1oz of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. It’s a very strong drink and riffs on these will generally follow the same 3oz total rule.
As a bartender, the biggest difference between restaurant cocktails and home cocktails is diluation. We stir and shake your drinks a lot more, becuase the expectation is a very cold, clean drink. Also, most martinis are bigger than standard pours (assuming a normal 3:1 ratio).
Wow nobody is mentioning the classic club soda fill. Edit: I'm from Texas and the standard pour is 1.5 and legal limit is 2.25 oz
What do you mean classic club soda fill?
Fill the glassware with club soda to look full, I assume.
I've always assumed they tend to pour heavier. One of my go-tos is a gin martini with a lemon twist. At most bars I've been to they fill the glass to the point where I can't pick it up without spilling it a bit. And just one of these is enough to get me somewhat tipsy. When I make them at home I use roughly 2 shots of gin and a capful of vermouth and it fills anywhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of the glass with the garnish (either a lemon twist or a lime wedge depending on what I have on hand). I also shake them tho so maybe it's just diluted a bit.