Measuring Devices for Tiki Drinks

I'm hoping that some of the excellent, and/or creative bartenders could share some of their tips with me on measuring devices. My wife has been making comments on the amount of time that it takes me to put together a single cocktail. She starts rolling her eyes as I get the limes, the mug, the rums, the liquers, the syrups, and last but not least the juices out. Then I proceed to measure with the type of care that one might use when baking. All I know, is that the drinks come out killer. The link shows my primary measuring device, it is a Perfect Beaker that Alton Brown recommends for general kitchen use. I like it, and it is great for the juices and the rums, but it does not have measurements of less than an ounce. I end up using a set of regular measuring spoons. I don't know how I could handle a big party situation, unless I did some pre-mixing. Any advice would be welcome.

http://www.shopping2.com/products/B00004R92L

Cheers,

KT

I use these:

Mini-Measure

They're very easy to use & clean.

In general, when you make multiples of the recipe, it gets easier. If a recipe calls for 1/4 ounce of something, you triple the recipe and then you can use the pony side of your jigger for that item and the others tend to fall into place too. 3 X a one ounce is 2 jiggers. Often tripling makes it all easier. Just look at the recipe and whatever the smallest amount is, multiply it to make it measurable with your jigger/pony and then you will often find it all gets easier.

I never measured when I bartended. Maybe that's why I got good tips?
:D

But, Kreaky, the Measuring is so important! Is the wife still rolling her eyes as sips her Chi-chi? Or do they only roll back in her head after about four of them? I, too, have had people display impatience at the length of time it takes to create a decent cocktail. I say, "Hey! If you don't want to wait for me to shake it for 12 1/2 minutes don't order a Ramos' Gin Fizz." You could go to any bar in the world and get a Mai Tai made of canned pineapple juice and cheap rum in only a few minutes. What good would that be?
It's always good to find faster ways to do the things you do, but be careful not to compromise the things to do for a reason in order to speed up your process. As I have (actually) told a few people... "If you want this drink quicker, why don't you go buy it from somebody that can make it quicker." That usually shuts 'em up.

P.S.: When is Alton Brown going to do a show about Tiki Drinks? Or... Just Cocktails in General? I mean... Isn't it an important enough topic these days? Isn't it Popular enough? Isn't he enough of a Scientist to be intrigued by the concept? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Humuhumu, the mini measure is exactly what I have been looking for!

Traitor, do not worry that I am looking to compromse, like you, I felt that that would be unacceptable. I should have mentioned that most of the eye rolling that my wife was doing was whilr she was pregnant with our just born son. She did have me make a Lei lani's Volcano today "a double", and then I made her a Demerara Float. There were no complaints, or attitude. I do think that Alton should address the complex nature of the Tiki Drink, I'm sure we would like it.

Cheers,

KT

[ Edited by: Kreaky Tiki on 2003-10-27 21:47 ]

Unfortunately, fairly exact measurements are in order for a good tropical drink. I did however get tired of cleaning up multiple measuring devices (MMD's).

Most of the

I use one (or two as the case may be) of those gradated pint glasses, marked for ounces. It's nice to be able to measure everything into one glass before the shaking / blending / muddling / stirring / etc...

Although, I never shy away from looking to scientific. I've a set of small beakers that I like to use for shots, and some erlenmyer flasks and unusual vials that sometimes come into play for effect. Do not underestimate the powers of scientific measuring devices...

I don't know how I could handle a big party situation, unless I did some pre-mixing. Any advice would be welcome

My only bits of advice via experience would be::

To buy a plastic juicer - and pre-juice the lemons and limes. For a party this will cut down on the time.

For my "Tiki Party" I only offered about 8 to 10 Tiki drinks, and the key was that the alcohol for these drinks were pretty much the same (so no one drink that requires a splash of Gin per se) just a couple that required Blue Curacao or Midori. I found this cut down on time as well, because unless you do something like this you'll spend the entire party behind the bar (making the drinks right) but really in essence miss out on your own party. That's NOT Good Eats. Speaking of which -- when I hear a remark or two about taking the time to get the job done right, I normally remind "whomever" that it's either time or money....in your case if your wife wants the drinks quicker? Easy! Time to open up your own fully operational Tiki Bar.

As far as Alton Brown goes I'd just like a couple of shows dedicated to Rum Cookery (ala Trader Vic's Books) and then for Food TV to create a show all about the recipes for Tiki Drinks....

Tiki baron, you are right on! Let's get Alton to put together some kiss a$$ tropical concoctions!

Cheers,

KT

I went through hell finding a mini-measure about a year ago and finally tracked one down at Crate and Barrel - I think I paid $5.00 for it. But then I made a real mistake when I put the damn thing in the dishwasher - now I've got a five dollar shot glass with no measurements at all. I found its replacement at Target and have discovered that I like the new one even better - it is larger than a mini-measure and has all the measurements you'd need to create the wonderful exotic cocktail you desire! The only thing I need to use the measuring spoons for now is for the 1/4 oz and smaller.

Alton Brown fans unite! I really enjoyed the "Lost on a Tropical Island" episode, very exotic.

What about that Adjust-a-Cup measurer Alton often uses? I found 1 here: http://chefs-store.com/184848/Adjust-A-Cup_Measuring_Cup.html . You could measure small amounts together then pour'em all into the glass or shaker at the same time.

Trader Vic streamlined his bars by premixing juices beforehand. Doing this would help for parties, but not much for just you & your wife.

I have had the good fortune of coming across a box of the prized and apparently rare Pharmacist's jiggers that are mentioned in Berry's books. It is a Pyrex affair with measurments down to an 1/8 of an ounce, plus tbsps, tsps etc.

The nice thing about these is that the Pyrex is nigh unbreakable and they have a nice little "spout" on one end like a pitcher to facilitate clean pours.

Also, the measurement markings are molded in the glass, and thus nice and permanent. Since they look a lot like normal shot glasses, you don't get that whole "scientist at work" thing going.

I dropped one from about four feet onto a saltillio tile floor months ago and the damned thing bounced like a billiard ball on concrete. Not a chip or scratch, and this is the floor that has turned many glasses (though thankfully no tiki mugs) into a miniature Milky Way of fine shards upon impact.

I use three in the bar usually. This way I can pour out three items into them at once, and then toss it all into the shaker or glass.

Sometimes it helps to keep a menu shorter as was mentioned above, and then mix your juices together pre-party into marked pitchers in the 'frig. Then ya can just pull out a pitcher for, say Boo Loo, and add the appropriate liquors and such to that. Saves much time.

Another handy (and cheap) device for mixing several drinks at once is a standard fruit canning jar. The Ball and Mason brands have ounce measurements one them that can be used for larger quantities when the recipe is compounded (as was also mentioned above) or for when some drink calls for three ounces of something. I use these often at parties since you can generally whip up four drinks at a time anyway to keep everyone topped off.

Hope any of these suggestions help. I have to agree whole heartedly with pre squeezing of juices, this process really makes the difference between a drink that takes three minutes, and one that takes ten to make.

pele

Alton Brown?

Why not Iron Chef Rum?

I like the idea of Iron Chef Rum! I have noticed that the little cups that come with children's medicine are marked in fractional teaspoons, and could be handy around the bar. I wanted to try'em out this weekend, but I was sick with my kids. Getting loaded on top shelf Tiki drinks was out of the question.

Cheers,

KT

^ Pishposh! You gotta burn it clean with booze!
Good luck!

restoration hardware carried, and may still. a sturdy glass shot with the pour spout, with measurements down to 1/4 oz and ml. the markings are molded into the glass so that they will never wash away. they also had glass beakers with measurements up to 100 ml, that are great for presentation if you are floating multiple layers.
Tri-ess sciences in burbank, california is a scientific supply that has a lot of great measuring goodies. hell, you could build a whole lab set with their equipment and look like mike in miles thompson's tiki ti painting (thats my dream at least).
measuring your primary components is necessary, leave the eyeballing to the goodies like 151 and galliani.

I use a Holland House measuring shot glass that I found in a flea market. It has increments in 1/4 ounces marked in red ink. I have seen them a few times in antique stores. Ebay has some right now.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?query=holland+house+glass&ht=1&sosortproperty=1&from=R10&BasicSearch=

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[ Edited by: thejab on 2003-10-29 11:43 ]