Excellent! I’m glad you’re finally able to put them to use. Thanks!

I wish there were quick answers to bar measures questions, but there aren’t. Some of these measures are more practical than precise.

For example, that king of variability, the “dash.” Over the years, various writers of bar manuals have provided definitions, but each seems to be different from the rest. Estimates range from a sixth of a teaspoon up to an astonishing half-teaspoon. I’ve also seen it listed as “about 12 drops” (Frank Meier, The Artistry of Mixing Drinks.) It’s not a very easy amount to measure out, so for individual drinks, I usually just let a dash be whatever comes out of the dasher top on the bitters bottle, and for other things, like liqueurs, I put some in a little dasher bottle and dash away. You have to apply a little judgment with this technique, since even the “standard” dashers seem to deliver a different amount of liquid depending on how full the bottle is. Not a great answer, I know, and the weakest point in all these formulas. In the end, you have to get used to your dasher bottles, and adjust as you go along.

The “bar spoon” is another variable measure, but not quite as bad as the dash. According to David Wondrich (Imbibe!), the bar spoon has changed size over the years. He says it was once about a quarter-teaspoon, but is more like a sixth-teaspoon today. That said, my bar spoons seem to be a very standard style, and measure out to about an eighth of a teaspoon. I’d say that it’s reasonable to interpret a modern recipe’s “bar spoon” to be somewhere in that sixth- to quarter-teaspoon range.

I interpret “dropper” to refer to the dropper built into whatever bitters or tinctures bottles come with some of the bitters. I use a lot of Bittercube’s products, which are typically packaged in dropper bottles, and so I just use the dropper that comes with them. I also reuse those bottles if I make up my own tinctures; that makes for a pretty standard measure in my kitchen, and a good starting point, easily adjusted, if I’m trying someone else’s formulas.

As for flaming an orange—you’ll want a pretty fresh orange, one with plenty of oil and a firm skin. (My favorites are the ones my grocery sells as “juice oranges;” I have no idea what their proper name is, but they work spectacularly for flaming.) Cut a small piece of the orange skin, about the size of a quarter, avoiding the white pith as much as is practical. Hold a burning match near the rim of your glass, and the orange peel at the same level, a couple inches farther away. Lightly squeeze the orange peel so that the oils express through the flame toward the surface of the drink. Hilarity ensues.

I’m glad you’ve been enjoying Cold Glass, and I hope you continue to find it helpful—at least more helpful than that definition of “dash.”

A practical question: what is the actual volume of a dropper, or a dash, or a “bar spoon”? I see some recipes that call for “6 drops of pepper tincture” but that seems hard to replicate. Or if I knew that 4 bar spoons = 3/4oz, that would be useful for mixing batches.

Also, is there more to flaming an orange peel than, well, holding it over a flame for a while?

Thanks!

I was thinking of the drinks served in the typical American bar—not the “craft” bars, but the ones most people have access to.

And your question goes right to the heart of one of the main reasons I don’t enjoy such places: the drinks are just too large. A Manhattan in such places is likely to be four ounces or so of 80-proof bourbon, a vanishingly small splash of vermouth, and a dash of Angostura (maybe). Same for the Martini.

Of course, if the same bartender that made that Manhattan made a 1795 instead, it might well be oversized, too… Alas!

Compared to that the modern cocktailian might make at home (or find in a first rate bar), the difference is certainly reduced—and I agree wholeheartedly with your sizing and proportions.

The drink size and ABV issues are important—thanks for raising the issue here.

$75, oof, you have tough prices in your region. I was not aware of the Malagasy bitters, that’s something I’ll have to watch for. I just saw the description on their web site, it sounds intriguing. Thanks for taking time to comment!

And I love your pictures!

Definitely an excellent Fall cocktail.