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| Bahama Bob at the Rum Bar back a few Years |
This is an article that I find to be very
interesting and both sides have valid points, for me, I have to say that I was
able to work very accurately either way.
I always use a jigger when I am creating new cocktails, because I have
to be able to communicate the recipe for people who many not have the skills to
accurately free pour.
The other thing
that I have noticed over the years is a lot of barmen will use a jigger and let
it overflow into the glass or shaker, totally defeating the reason for using a jigger in the first place. I always love a good
debate, and this is a subject that will always spark one.
David Eden-Sangwell, brand activation executive, Catalyst
PLB, Midlands
I’ve always been a fan of free pouring. To me,
it’s one of the skills that every bartender should have in their arsenal,
regardless of whether they choose to use it behind their bar every day. Yes,
it’s something that takes dedication and practice to do well and consistently,
but that’s kind of why I like it.
For
me, a jigger is an additional barrier between myself and the guest I’m taking
care of. It slows service, especially on multiple spirit cocktails where a
free-pouring bartender could easily be grabbing and pouring two or more
bottles at once, and enjoying interaction with their guests at the same time.
Erik
Lorincz, head bartender, American Bar at The Savoy, London
I
used to do quite a lot of free pouring when I started bartending about 17 years
ago, but that was a long time ago and since then lots of things have
progressed.
Today,
I can’t imagine free pouring, apart from a cup of tea. As standard practice at
our bar, we measure using a jigger. I don’t find it old fashioned at all. It’s
no longer old school or old fashioned, it’s just a way of judging the final
results of a drink, and at the end you want it to be a fantastic result.
What
is important here is not the way we make those drinks, it’s how they taste.
Some bartenders think that free pouring looks very cool, it seems fast but at
the same time if you learn how to work fast with the jigger, it can
be equally as fast.
The
main benefit of using a jigger is consistency – when free pouring some
bartenders use some sort of counting, but some don’t count at all and just look
at how much they are pouring into the shaker. But if the bartender is jiggering
or using a measuring cup, the same quantities will be used and the drink
will taste exactly the same each time.
