![Novelty Shot Glasses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Novelty_Shot_Glasses.JPG)
A shot glass is a
glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...
originally designed to hold or measure
spirits or liquor, which is either imbibed straight from the glass ("a shot") or poured into a
cocktail ("a drink"). An alcoholic beverage served in a shot glass and typically consumed quickly, in one gulp, may also be known as a "
shooter
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...
".
Shot glasses decorated with a wide variety of
toasts,
advertisements
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
, humorous pictures, or other decorations and words are popular
souvenir
A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
s and
collectibles
A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...
, especially as
merchandise of a brewery.
Name origin
The word ''shot'', meaning a drink of alcohol, has been used since at least the 17th century, while it is known to have referred specifically to a small drink of spirits in the U.S. since at least the 1920s.
The phrase ''shot glass'' has been in use since at least the 1940s.
Earliest shot glasses
Some of the earliest whiskey glasses in America from the late 1700s to early 1800s were called "whiskey tasters" or "whiskey tumblers" and were hand blown. They are thick, similar to today's shot glasses, but will show a
pontil mark
A pontil mark or punt mark is the scar where the pontil, punty or punt was broken from a work of blown glass. The presence of such a scar indicates that a glass bottle or bowl was blown freehand, while the absence of a punt mark suggests either th ...
or scar on the bottom, or a cupped area on the bottom where the pontil mark was ground and polished off. Some of these glasses even have hand-applied handles and decorations hand crafted using a grinding wheel.
In the early to mid-1800s, glass blowers began to use molds and several different patterns of "whiskey tasters" in several different colors were being made in molds. These glasses are also thick like today's shot glass but they will have rough pontiled bottoms from being hand blown into the mold. By the 1870s to 1890s as glass making technology improved, the rough pontiled bottoms largely disappeared from glasses and bottles.
Sizes
Types of shot glasses
Cheater glass
These glasses are for those wary of heavy drinking, or for establishments which want to cheat their patrons into thinking they are being given more than they are in reality. Their bottoms are sturdy and thick, so they give the illusion of a plain shot glass, when in reality they only hold two-thirds as much liquid.
Single glass
A
single shot glass holds a full shot.
Fluted glass
A
fluted glass
Fluting may refer to:
*Fluting (architecture)
*Fluting (firearms)
*Fluting (geology)
* Fluting (glacial)
*Fluting (paper)
Arts, entertainment, and media
*Fluting on the Hump
See also
*Flute (disambiguation)
A flute is a musical instrument.
F ...
is a type of shot glass with a basic fluting featured on the base of the glass.
Pony glass
Pony glass A pony glass may mean one of two types of small glassware:
* A quarter- pint glass of beer: , metricated to 140ml in Australia.
* A small, stemmed glass of about one ounce, similar to a stemmed shot glass. Used for liqueurs or cordials, hence also ...
es can only hold about an ounce (30 ml) of fluid each but are normally used while mixing drinks into a larger glass.
Tall shot glass
Tall shot glasses are taller, but narrower. They are sometimes also known as shooter glasses.
Rounded glass
In rounded shot glasses, the walls of the glass curve down leaving a 10 centimetre difference between the lip of the glass and the bottom rim of the glass. They are popular in Europe.
Shot-measuring tools
Jigger
![Bartool14](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Bartool14.jpg)
A
jigger, also known as a measure, is a
bartending
A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...
tool used to measure
liquor
Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...
, which is typically then poured into a glass or
cocktail shaker
A cocktail shaker is a device used to mix beverages (usually alcoholic) by shaking. When ice is put in the shaker, this allows for a quicker cooling of the drink before serving.
Usage
A shaken cocktail is made by putting the desired ingredie ...
.
The term ''jigger'' in the sense of a small cup or measure of spirits or wine originates in the U.S. in the early 19th century. Many references from the 1800s describe the "jigger boss" providing jiggers of whiskey to Irish immigrant workers who were digging canals in the U.S. Northeast.
The style of double-ended jigger common today, made of stainless steel with two unequal sized opposing cones in an hourglass shape, was patented in 1893 by Cornelius Dungan of Chicago.
Typically, one cone measures a regulation single shot, and the other some fraction or multiple—with the actual sizes depending on local laws and customs.
A contemporary jigger measure in the U.S. usually holds ,
while the jiggers used in the U.K. are typically 25 ml or sometimes 35 ml. Jiggers may also hold other amounts and ratios, and can vary depending on the region and date of manufacture. Many jiggers may also have fractional markings on the inside of the bowl, to facilitate smaller measures of liquid.
In the U.S. up until
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, a jigger was commonly known to be about half a
gill
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
, or ,
but starting in the latter part of the 20th century, it is typically interpreted to be .
Measuring shot glass
![Two shot glasses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Two_shot_glasses.jpg)
A shot glass graduated in smaller units such as half-ounces,
teaspoons, tablespoons, or millilitres. They are useful for precise measurement of cocktail ingredients, as well as in cooking recipes that call for multiples of a smaller unit (e.g. several teaspoons), allowing the dispensing of the amount in a single measure.
See also
*
Alcoholic spirits measure
Alcoholic spirits measures are instruments designed to measure exact amounts or shots of alcoholic spirits.
The most common products used today to measure spirits are the thimble measure and the non-drip measure, often referred to as an optic. Th ...
*
Alcohol measurements
Alcohol measurements are units of measurement for determining amounts of beverage alcohol.
Beer measures
Liquor measurements
The following table lists common sizes for liquors and spirits.
Liquor bottles
The British Reputed Pint and Re ...
References
External links
The Shotglass collectors website
{{Glassware
Drinking glasses
Measurement
Alcohol measurement
Collecting
Volumetric instruments
Customary units of measurement in the United States
de:Trinkglas#Schnapsglas