Jigger Skull 60ml, Matt Anti-Fingerprint Finish

For bartenders who work in view of the guest and want the tool to be seen. A cylindrical jigger disappears in the hand; this one does not, and whoever is at the bar watches it while you pour. It suits a themed drinks list, a bar with a clear identity, or anyone tired of anonymous steel.

60ml is just over two ounces: a common base measure of spirit in many cocktail specs, the amount that goes into the shaker for a Daiquiri, a Margarita or a Whisky Sour. It is the measure used most often in an evening, which is why the 60ml is the version to keep front of station.

If you work with more generous specs, or build in the glass starting from 90ml, the same shape comes in a taller version. The two sit well side by side precisely because the silhouette is identical and only the capacity changes: the hand knows which one it has picked up without looking.

A polished tool on the bar collects every fingerprint. After twenty drinks a mirror-finish jigger is a map of smudges, and needs a wipe every time it goes back on show. The matt surface of the Skull Jigger hides them, and that is the practical advantage you notice in the second hour of service, not the first.

There is a grip reason too. Matt has more friction than polished, and a jigger wet with lime juice slips less. On an object that goes from hand to glass dozens of times a night, that extra friction is the difference between a sure movement and one rescued in mid-air.

Specifications

• Capacity: 60ml
• Height: 9.5cm
• Width: 5.4cm
• Depth: 5.5cm
• Weight: 100g
• Finish: matt, anti-fingerprint
• Dishwasher safe: no, hand wash only

This is the point worth being clear on. The Skull Jigger does not go in the dishwasher: the manufacturer states it, and it is not a precaution. Industrial cycles run hot with alkaline detergents, and repeated on a worked matt finish they cloud it in patches, spoiling exactly what the jigger was chosen for.

In practice: warm running water and a cloth, straight after use. Thirty seconds at the end of service. If you want a jigger to throw in the rack at the end of the shift, look at a bare steel model, and it is right to know that before buying.

The sculpted shape changes the movement compared with a cone. Fill it to the brim, not by eye: the stated measure is level full, and half a millimetre short is already three or four millilitres lost. On a three-ingredient drink the error does not show; on a sour with tight proportions it does.

The tip from behind the bar is to check the Skull Jigger once, on the first day, with a measuring cylinder: fill, pour across, see where the level falls. After that you stop thinking about it, and the hand knows where to stop.

The other side should be said too. A skull jigger is not neutral: it suits a bar with a clear direction and clashes in a hotel cocktail bar where everything is deliberately understated. That is not a fault in the object, it is a style choice to make knowingly.

Then there is the space. The wide silhouette takes more room in a drawer than a cylinder and does not stack with the others. On a narrow station, keep it on show on the bar top, which is where it earns its place anyway.

The more you buy, the less you pay: 4 pieces -5%, 6 -7%, 8 -10%, on the same item.

FAQ

How much does the Skull Jigger 60ml hold? 60ml level full, a common base measure of spirit in a cocktail spec.

Is it dishwasher safe? No. The manufacturer rules it out: hand wash it, because industrial cycles spoil the matt finish.

How big is it? 9.5cm tall, 5.4cm wide and 5.5cm deep. It weighs 100g.

Is it a stamped spirit measure? No. It is for cocktail specs, not a stamped measure for single spirits.

Is there another size? Yes, a 90ml version, identical in shape and 1.5cm taller.

Dispatched from Rome, Italy. To compare jigger types and measures, see the jigger guide.