Home
Articles
Traditional Spirit Measures: How Many Do You Know Of?

Traditional Spirit Measures: How Many Do You Know Of?

By: Aishwarya S

Do you fancy yourself a mixology and bartending historian, well-versed in the bar and tavern cultures of centuries past? Well then, this quiz seems to be perfect for you.

One of the most interesting elements in the bars of the olden days was the way they measured their spirits. From dram to tot to gill, a number of alcohol measures were in vogue a century back – and further beyond. Can you spot these quantities in the word grid below?

And if you are feeling cleverer, first, answer the questions to the clues and then try to locate the words in the grid!

THE GRID:

THE CLUES:

1. A tiny Scottish measure, usually used for measuring whisky – amounts to about 4 ml.
2. Once used by navy sailors to measure out their ration of rum.
3. Often used to measure gin and whisky, this is the modern equivalent of a pint in old British measures.
4. Still commonly used to measure out alcohol in Indian regions.
5. Originally used to refer to a small wooden cup and the drink inside it, roughly ¼ pint of spirits or ale.
6. A little-known French measure for spirits, used primarily in brandy traditions.
7. An old, small but historic English measure of liquid, usually about half a gill.
8. Widely used in pubs even today, this quantity refers to a small measure, generally of whisky.
9. A miniature quantity, often used for measuring liqueurs.
10. An old western saloon style measure, this is popular in American cocktail cultures – and doubles as a bartending tool.

THE TRADITIONAL ALCOHOL MEASURES:

Jigger	Pony
Jack	Nip
Roquille	Noggin
Gill	Peg
Tot	Dram

FOUND THEM ALL?

Well played! Looks like you are a bona fide connoisseur after all. Yet, if some of the words had you reaching for a mixology dictionary, here’s the word grid solved, so you can peek at the answers.