The Japanese jigger in two lines
The Japanese jigger is the Japanese-style double cone, tall and narrow instead of wide and short, in 18/10 stainless steel. It comes in four pairs of capacities, 15/30, 20/40, 25/50 and 30/60ml, and five finishes.
Who it is for
For bartenders who want to choose their measure rather than adapt to whatever the catalogue offers. Four pairs of capacities cover every recipe tradition in use, and the choice is genuinely yours: look at which measures come up most on your drinks list and take the size that holds them to the brim.
Tall and narrow measures better
The reason is geometry, and it is worth knowing. In a narrow cone the same amount of liquid rises much higher than in a wide one: a filling error of one millimetre costs a few tenths of a millilitre instead of a couple. So a Japanese jigger is accurate because it is tall, not because it is Japanese: two pours from the same hand are closer to each other than they would be in a squat cone. It is the shape that bars focused on consistency have adopted over the last fifteen years.
Specifications
- Sizes: 15/30, 20/40, 25/50 and 30/60ml
- Material: 18/10 stainless steel
- Shape: tall and narrow, Japanese style
- Finishes: black, silver, gold, copper and bronze
- Weight: 0.06kg
- Dishwasher safe: silver yes; black, gold, copper and bronze no, hand wash only
Which of the four sizes
The 30/60 is the American standard, one and two ounces, and the most versatile. The 25/50 follows European spirit measures and the 25/50ml specs used on UK drinks lists; it is a cocktail measure, not a stamped measure for single spirits. The 20/40 suits short, built drinks. The 15/30 is the jigger for small measures, the one that sits alongside a larger one. If you buy one, take the 30/60; if you buy two, take the 30/60 and the 15/30, which together cover everything.
How to hold it
Between index and middle finger, with the thumb resting lightly on the rim of the opposite cone: this is the Japanese grip, and it lets you flip the jigger without changing your hold when you need the other measure. It sounds like a textbook detail and it is worth a few seconds per drink, exactly the time won or lost at peak service.
The five finishes
Silver is bare 18/10 stainless steel with no plating, and it can go in the dishwasher. Black, gold, copper and bronze are external plating, so wash them by hand: industrial dishwasher cycles dull them in patches for good. Choose the colour by the light on your bar: gold, copper and bronze work under warm, low light and go flat under cold light, black does not reflect, and silver goes with everything.
Care
Rinse straight away, wash with mild soap (by hand for black, gold, copper and bronze) and dry upside down. A narrow cone dries more slowly than a wide one, so leave it upside down on a cloth rather than putting it back in the drawer damp: the bottom stays free of limescale rings.
Why measure rather than pour by eye
Free pouring can be learned and it works, but it has two limits no training removes: it gets worse with fatigue and it cannot be passed on. A Japanese jigger gives the same drink on the first order and the two-hundredth, and gives the same drink when someone else is behind the bar. That is why venues that care about consistency measure, and those that care about the show pour.
FAQ
How many sizes does the Japanese jigger come in? Four: 15/30, 20/40, 25/50 and 30/60ml.
Why the tall, narrow shape? For the same filling error the volume difference is smaller, so it measures more consistently.
Is it dishwasher safe? Silver is: it is bare 18/10 stainless steel, with no plating. Black, gold, copper and bronze are plated and hand wash only.
Which size should I choose? The 30/60 if you buy one, the 30/60 and 15/30 if you buy two.
The more you buy, the less you pay: 4 pieces -5%, 6 -7%, 8 -10%, on the same item.
Dispatched from Rome, Italy. 15-day returns, free of charge. Questions before you order? Message us on WhatsApp on +39 351 929 6937.
The measures are compared in the jigger guide.
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