Bartending/Glossary/Table of measures and conversions

Measurement is among the most important tasks in bar-tending and due to the diverse systems of measurement around the world perhaps the most confusing for a project such as ours. This page lists common liquid measurements in terms of fluid ounces and their metric equivalents.

Common bar measurements

 * (*) "splash" - a 20oz bottle of soda containing a "splash" of real juice contains 1% juice = 0.2oz juice
 * (†) A "shotglass" is usually 1.5 ounces, but sometimes 2 ounces with a measuring line at 1.5 ounces. You can also buy (in US) "short shot" glasses or "pony shots" which are 1 ounce. Pony shots are usually used with martinis, manhattans, and rob roys.

Dash and fill
Some recipes call for a small amount or "dash" to taste. A dash can be loosely defined as 1/6 teaspoon or about 1 mL, essentially the smallest amount one is able to pour from a dasher (a device which fits in the mouth of a bottle to slow the flow of liquid) or dasher bottle (a bottle equipped with such a device).

When instructed to 'fill' with a given spirit or mixer it is presumed that you are working in a glass of the given size and should, after adding the cocktail's other ingredients, 'top off' or fill the glass as instructed. If your recipe lists no specific glassware it may assume a standard highball glass of eight to ten ounces.