Ever wonder how professional bartenders easily free pour so accurately — one ounce, one and a half, or two ounces — all without using a shot glass or jigger? How long does it take to master this skill? Check out our video below and you’ll see it takes far less time than you’d think.
At Johnny D’s, Oscar is a kick-ass bartender . . . but because the club uses a measured pour, he never perfected doing it free-hand.
A couple of weeks ago I laid down a challenge. I told Oscar that he could quickly develop this skill in less than ten minutes . . . and learn it so well that he’d immediately be able to train someone else.
Last week we actually tried it, and at the end of this introduction you can watch the video we made of our project.
You’ll see Oscar now free-pouring like a champ, and also training Brittany, a waitress at the club with no prior bartending experience.
(You’ll also learn how to do this on your own . . . in only a few minutes.)
Most bartenders use a standard “four count” to free-pour — a count of . . . 1 – 2 – 3 – 4. The “four count” is preferred because it breaks down so easily — “1” equals a quarter shot, “2” equals a half shot, on up to a full “4” count — which is the house pour, or one full shot.
The most common mistake when teaching this count is to put the “horse before the cart.”
I’ve seen bartenders make the trainee start pouring blind immediately. The trainee pours blind into a tin cup, then empties it into a measuring glass to see how they did . . . short pour one time, then too much the next.
It’s much faster to simply pour into a long row of shot glasses, over and over. Just keep pouring into a shot glass while counting — until you have the exact count down like a musical beat. Then measure how you do with a blind pour, using that learned count . . .
While it’s useful to count at the beginning, just to establish the rhythm — once you have your exact count and you’ve been using it for a while — you won’t actually be counting at all.
To start, when practice is over and you’re actually working behind the bar, you’ll use a “silent count” — (as Brittany does at the 5 minute mark in the video.) Very quickly that “silent count” will become a “muscle memory.” Your wrist and arm will know the exact four-count just by the “feel” of the time your arm is raised.
I also want to remind you (once more) that Oscar is teaching this lesson less than ten minutes after he’d learned the method himself. (This is the way we planned it . . . we wanted to demonstrate how easily the skill can be both learned, and taught.)
I guess I’m pointing this out because there sure are some rough spots in the video. There are things that we would have changed if we’d done it a second time. (For example, towards the end of the video, Oscar is interrupted by a woman wanting to purchase a Johnny D’s T-shirt.)
And if we’d done it more than once, maybe we would have cut down on the beginning of the lesson, where Brittany is just learning the feel of the bottle.
But we had already decided . . . no editing, no corrections, just one chance. So once the camera started rolling we were committed to “keep on trucking,” just to prove that learning how to “free-pour” is a ten-minute task.
So here it is . . . if you follow the method in this video, you’ll be free-pouring like a pro in no time at all. (One suggestion: Enlarge the video to “full screen” and you can better see how accurate Brittany becomes at pouring exact shots.)
Thanks to Johnny D’s and owner Carla DeLellis for the use of her facilities and staff.
Disclaimer: While we are aware that in many places 1 ½ ounces is considered the “standard” pour of liquor rather than two ounces, our editorial stance is that these places are objectively wrong and just being cheap.
We don’t know the science behind why this trick works (if you do, please email and fill us in), but in tests with every glass we could find, along with years of anecdotal experience in actual bars and restaurants, measurements almost always came out perfect. When we figure out the reason, we’ll let you know.
Also called “free pouring,” this technique is often used in high-traffic bars where speed is of the essence. Bottles are topped with a speed pourer, a slightly curved metal spout with a rubber stopper. These spouts regulate the amount of air allowed into the bottle, which creates a steady, consistent flow of alcohol.
A four-count is just what it sounds like. As you pour, count to four (yes, with “Mississippi”), and stop. Each “count” should equal about ½ ounce of alcohol. With a bit of practice, what ends up in your glass should fill the 2-ounce side of a jigger. A perfect standard pour.
Learning how to pour precise measurements without a jigger is a useful skill for home and professional bartenders. It allows you to serve drinks more quickly and cuts down cleanup.
Ever wonder how professional bartenders easily free pour so accurately — one ounce, one and a half, or two ounces — all without using a shot glass or jigger? How long does it take to master this skill? Check out our video below and you’ll see it takes far less time than you’d think.
Thanks to Johnny D’s and owner Carla DeLellis for the use of her facilities and staff.
Most bartenders use a standard “four count” to free-pour — a count of . . . 1 – 2 – 3 – 4. The “four count” is preferred because it breaks down so easily — “1” equals a quarter shot, “2” equals a half shot, on up to a full “4” count — which is the house pour, or one full shot.
(You’ll also learn how to do this on your own . . . in only a few minutes.)
So here it is . . . if you follow the method in this video, you’ll be free-pouring like a pro in no time at all. (One suggestion: Enlarge the video to “full screen” and you can better see how accurate Brittany becomes at pouring exact shots.)
How to Free Pour Liquor – Expert Bartending Tips
How do you measure a shot for a bartender?
Start with the right hand. Instruct your bartender to pour 12 one and one quarter ounce pours. Pull out the tube between each pour and see if the pour is accurate. 3. If the measurements are over or under by more than five percent , make the bartender pour again. (A pro will be able to pour the shot within about three percent accuracy!)
How high should a pour count be for bartending?
Perfecting how fast you count requires practice. When calculating pour counts for bartending, keep in mind that each count should equal 1/2 a fl. oz. of liquor. We provide a cheat sheet that breaks down how high you should count to pour popular quantities of liquor below.
What is free pour bartending?
It is simply practice, economy of motion, and muscle memory. The free pour bartending method may be quicker in the long-run, but it is really up to the individual which method they want to use. The basic way of free-pouring is using a timed count, as stated above. The bartender will simply count off 1, 2, 3, 4, in a regular cadence, while pouring.
Should bartenders use a measuring device?
As a bar consultant, I would never recommend bartenders not to use some type of measuring device however it is still an essential skill for every bartender to know. There are times when you’re going to need to use the bartending pour count free pouring technique and you can’t always rely on a shot glass or jigger to tell you how much an ounce is.