As a bartender himself, Christian Bergman has developed a habit that he says might be controversial. Whenever he orders a drink at a bar, he watches the bartender and counts how much alcohol goes into his glass.
Bergman (@christiannbergman) shares his “bartender hot take,” explaining why he keeps a close eye on other bartenders’ pours.
“If I can see the bartender making my drink, I’m counting each pour, so I know how much liquor I’m getting,” he says.
This isn’t because he doesn’t trust the bartender, but because he argues that there isn’t always consistency when it comes to how much booze constitutes a standard “pour.”
“This is a subjective job,” Bergman explains. “A shot in Arizona is not the same as a shot in, say, Missouri or Oklahoma. [It’s] not the same as a shot in the U.K., where they do less than an ounce and a half.”
“Some bars in the Midwest are doing an ounce pour, or they’re doing two-ounce pours,” he adds in his video. “I count, I wanna know, I hope that’s not a hot take.”
As of this writing, Bergman’s post has more than 133,000 views.
Other bartenders weigh in
Bergman isn’t the only bartender who has noticed how drastically serving sizes can vary from one place to another.
“100%. Also, overpouring drinks can be dangerous,” one viewer wrote, pointing out that getting more alcohol than one realizes isn’t always a positive thing.
“New Orleans pour could be between a single and triple,” wrote another viewer. “It’s a fun game.”
“Bruh, in St. Louis my wife and I kept getting … NEAR TRIPLES when we ordered shots of Rumple,” a third chimed in. “We weren’t exactly mad about it, but … are y’all trying to kill somebody?”
A self-identified “Midwest bartender” shared her advice, writing, “I do a [four-count] free pour to the beat of ‘American Idiot’ by Green Day … What does that measure out to in Arizona pours?”
How does counting pours work?
Counting to the beat of a song is the right idea. Bartenders who don’t use measurement tools like jiggers or shot glasses rely on free pouring, using “a steady hand, consistent pour speed, and a counting method to achieve accurate measurements.”
According to VinePair, “finding a song with a steady BPM (beats per minute)” to use as a reference point is how bartenders hone their free pouring skills, with bartenders on Reddit pouring to a BPM of 108 to 120 (“American Idiot,” for the record, is 184 to 186 BPM).
It appears that more important than the specific song is the use of a “four-count” system, which is exactly what it sounds like. Wine Enthusiast says, “Each ‘count’ should equal about ½ ounce of alcohol.”
Adding a snag to this equation is the fact that the size of a bottle’s pour spout can affect how much liquor comes out during a count.
How much alcohol is in a standard shot?
Bergman’s hot take raises an interesting question. Is there a standard amount of alcohol bartenders normally pour?
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says a standard drink contains 0.6 fluid ounces or 14 grams of pure alcohol, which translates to a 1.5 fluid ounce shot of 80-proof liquor.
However, people primarily use this measurement to track their alcohol consumption. It doesn’t reflect how much liquor a bartender will serve every time someone orders a drink.
But while there’s no strict single shot standard across establishments in the U.S., a 1-to-1.5-ounce single shot glass “is the most widely used size in bars and restaurants,” according to the Restaurant Supply Guide.
Bergman shares similar information with Subplot News.
“I’ve noticed that it really depends on the establishment,” he says. “Europe, for example, has a lower ‘standard’ pour at less than 1.3 [ounces], and the change in volume doesn’t stop … across the Pacific. Instead I’ve seen high volume/tourist heavy establishments may have a [one-ounce] pour … Some high-end craft cocktail venues provide a [two-ounce] pour.”
Bergman’s point about the U.K. checks out: Across the pond, gin, rum, vodka, and whisky by the glass are sold in measures of 25 milliliters or 35 milliliters. That works out to about 0.85 or 1.18 U.S. fluid ounces.
At least now we know why the same cocktail sometimes hits a little harder at one bar than another.
@christiannbergman
