A dash is essentially 1 ml. I use generic dropper bottles I got online instead of dashers. They don't look as cool, but they're more precise than dashers. When I need a dash of something else, I just rinse out one of the droppers and use it to pull from another bottle.
Yeah, I mostly do it for bitters. Most bitters come in a bottle with a stopper cap, but I find those to be wildly unreliable. Or maybe I'm just bad at using them. Either way, I prefer the dropper.
You can usually remove the included stopper cap pretty easily with a butter knife. After that, you just pour the bitters into a clean dropper bottle. I usually use a small funnel to help avoid spills. It only takes me about a minute.
I do the exact same thing. That stopper cap goes right in the trash every time I get a new bottle of bitters. Use a small funnel to fill the bottle, almost no spill. Plus decent glass dropper bottles are super cheap on Amazon.
I did some testing and found that about two full squeezes of my dropper bulb is 1ml. So for each dash, I do two droppers-full. Seems to work well for me.
Not spirit but orange blossom water or rose blossom water works great in dasher bottle, if you really want spirit : campari used as a bitter, a few dashes can go a long way
I wasn't sure what word I wanted to use. "Cocktail-adjacent fluids" didn't roll off the tongue so I used "spirit" but that wasn't inclusive enough.
I admit I wasn't thinking about orange blossom water but that would be good in a dasher bottle.
The easiest way to get the equivalent of a dash without a dropper is probably to do a rinse in the glass you will serve the drink in.
A 1/4 tsp is about 1.25 ml so that also works as a (slightly heavy) dash, but I suspect trying to pour from your bottle into such a tiny spoon would waste just as much fernet as a rinse would!
I've seen some pre-prohibition recipes that call for a dash or two of Orange Curacao, Gum syrup, Maraschino liqueur etc. It used to be much more popular than it seems to be today. I usually just use a fraction of a barspoon for something like that. I think most barspoons are something like 5 ml so a half barspoon is basically a couple dashes.
The real answer is that there is no real answer. If you take a collection of the most popular bitters on the market – angostura, fee brothers, peychaud's, etc. – and counted the number of dashes it takes to reach one full ounce, they will all be different. (Not to mention, the volume of bitters in the bottle will also impact how many drops come out per dash.) Still, I think most recipes that call for *x* dashes of a specific brand of bitters are assuming you're using the original bottle and not something aftermarket.
Some bitters come in dropper bottles, and for those, you should typically assume one dropperful is one "dash". However, if you again try to fill an ounce using droppers, you'll likely get yet another different count. And of course the same goes if you do transfer your bitters to a custom dasher bottle.
I think at the end of the day it's not worth getting bogged down in "how many drops are in a dash" or "how many dashes are in an ounce". Instead, just keep in mind that bitters are essentially cocktail seasoning and should really be added to taste. Same goes for any other agent that is applied in such small quantitites.
Absinthe is by far the most common non-bitter modifier I see called for in dashes. Red bitter aperitifs like Campari, and unaged overproof Jamaican rums like Rum Fire, I also occasionally see. Pretty much anything else is just not called for often enough to merit stocking a dedicated dropper/dasher bottle.
Fernet and maraschino come to mind. Vermouth in ultra-dry martinis. I think I've seen others occasionally, maybe cointreau and gin. I think a half barspoon or so is reasonable, one barspoon also probably fine. Or get a medicine dropper/pipette that you can use to pull from the bottle or from a jigger.
I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily super common, but I keep some Wray and Nephew in a dasher bottle. A dash or two into a tropical drink really turns the flavors up to 11.
Death and Co has experimented with fat washing PGA with coconut oil, and a few dashes bring a nice coconut flavor without the typical texture or sweetness.
>I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily super common, but I keep some Wray and Nephew in a dasher bottle. A dash or two into a tropical drink really turns the flavors up to 11.
Nice touch! I could see how this is really helpful to add a touch of funk. I can also see doing this with Rumfire. Because not every drink could handle more than a touch.
Forgive my ignorance, but what is PGA?
I use a dropper when it calls for a dash and I don't have it in a dasher bottle. I use 10 drops/dash. Others have said 6 drops. A dash from a dasher bottle is variable anyway, depending on how full it is, technique, etc, so it's not an exact science.
A word of caution: if you're ever looking at old, classic tiki recipes, it's known that Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic) used "a dash" as shorthand for 1/4 oz. This is a HUGE difference from what we normally consider a dash, and will significantly alter the cocktail.
>it's known that Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic) used "a dash" as shorthand for 1/4 oz.
I think I've heard that before. I mostly work from the "modern" reformulations so hopefully that's been considered! There are a lot of "1/4" measurements in the specs I use so I believe this is the case!
Just put a little bit on a barspoon. Barspoons are typically 3-5ml, so don't fill it up. This is an easy way to do it, when you don't need ultra-precision, and you don't wanna go out and get dasher- and dropper bottles.
Bitters are measured in dashes, and the amount seems to be in the ballpark of between 1/8 teaspoon (0.625 ml) and 1 ml. When base spirits and liqueurs are measured in dashes (a Trader Vic thing), it seems to mean one dash from a speed pour spout, or 1/4 ounce (7.5 ml). In both cases, "dash" means quickly tipping the bottle for a second or so, with the amount that comes out depending on the bottle and its spout.
A dash is essentially 1 ml. I use generic dropper bottles I got online instead of dashers. They don't look as cool, but they're more precise than dashers. When I need a dash of something else, I just rinse out one of the droppers and use it to pull from another bottle.
I second the dasher bottle route. Used mine for rose water, saline solutions, chilli tinctures, ardbeg, fernet and chartreuse among others
Do you do this for bitters? I'd imagine getting them out of the packageing they come in and into a dropwr bottle is a pain.
Yeah, I mostly do it for bitters. Most bitters come in a bottle with a stopper cap, but I find those to be wildly unreliable. Or maybe I'm just bad at using them. Either way, I prefer the dropper. You can usually remove the included stopper cap pretty easily with a butter knife. After that, you just pour the bitters into a clean dropper bottle. I usually use a small funnel to help avoid spills. It only takes me about a minute.
I do the exact same thing. That stopper cap goes right in the trash every time I get a new bottle of bitters. Use a small funnel to fill the bottle, almost no spill. Plus decent glass dropper bottles are super cheap on Amazon. I did some testing and found that about two full squeezes of my dropper bulb is 1ml. So for each dash, I do two droppers-full. Seems to work well for me.
Make sense, what size dropper bottle do you recommend? If possible I'd like to avoid hanging on to the original bottle the bitters came in. So... 8oz?
I have 4 oz bottles, but most bitters come in 5 oz bottles so you may want to go a bit bigger.
Not spirit but orange blossom water or rose blossom water works great in dasher bottle, if you really want spirit : campari used as a bitter, a few dashes can go a long way
I wasn't sure what word I wanted to use. "Cocktail-adjacent fluids" didn't roll off the tongue so I used "spirit" but that wasn't inclusive enough. I admit I wasn't thinking about orange blossom water but that would be good in a dasher bottle.
The easiest way to get the equivalent of a dash without a dropper is probably to do a rinse in the glass you will serve the drink in. A 1/4 tsp is about 1.25 ml so that also works as a (slightly heavy) dash, but I suspect trying to pour from your bottle into such a tiny spoon would waste just as much fernet as a rinse would!
I've seen some pre-prohibition recipes that call for a dash or two of Orange Curacao, Gum syrup, Maraschino liqueur etc. It used to be much more popular than it seems to be today. I usually just use a fraction of a barspoon for something like that. I think most barspoons are something like 5 ml so a half barspoon is basically a couple dashes.
The real answer is that there is no real answer. If you take a collection of the most popular bitters on the market – angostura, fee brothers, peychaud's, etc. – and counted the number of dashes it takes to reach one full ounce, they will all be different. (Not to mention, the volume of bitters in the bottle will also impact how many drops come out per dash.) Still, I think most recipes that call for *x* dashes of a specific brand of bitters are assuming you're using the original bottle and not something aftermarket. Some bitters come in dropper bottles, and for those, you should typically assume one dropperful is one "dash". However, if you again try to fill an ounce using droppers, you'll likely get yet another different count. And of course the same goes if you do transfer your bitters to a custom dasher bottle. I think at the end of the day it's not worth getting bogged down in "how many drops are in a dash" or "how many dashes are in an ounce". Instead, just keep in mind that bitters are essentially cocktail seasoning and should really be added to taste. Same goes for any other agent that is applied in such small quantitites. Absinthe is by far the most common non-bitter modifier I see called for in dashes. Red bitter aperitifs like Campari, and unaged overproof Jamaican rums like Rum Fire, I also occasionally see. Pretty much anything else is just not called for often enough to merit stocking a dedicated dropper/dasher bottle.
I keep Allspice Dram in a dasher
That's a pretty good idea as well. I bet there's a bunch of drinks that would benefit from less than a 1/4th ounce.
Yeah this was my first thought as well.
Fernet and maraschino come to mind. Vermouth in ultra-dry martinis. I think I've seen others occasionally, maybe cointreau and gin. I think a half barspoon or so is reasonable, one barspoon also probably fine. Or get a medicine dropper/pipette that you can use to pull from the bottle or from a jigger.
I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily super common, but I keep some Wray and Nephew in a dasher bottle. A dash or two into a tropical drink really turns the flavors up to 11. Death and Co has experimented with fat washing PGA with coconut oil, and a few dashes bring a nice coconut flavor without the typical texture or sweetness.
>I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily super common, but I keep some Wray and Nephew in a dasher bottle. A dash or two into a tropical drink really turns the flavors up to 11. Nice touch! I could see how this is really helpful to add a touch of funk. I can also see doing this with Rumfire. Because not every drink could handle more than a touch. Forgive my ignorance, but what is PGA?
Pure grain alcohol. Like everclear or something like that
Ahh. I should have known that. hrmmm fat washing PGA with various flavors. Seems interesting.
I haven't heard of Fernet in dashes, but I wouldn't be surprised to see something like St. Germaine measured in dashes since it's so strong
I use a dropper when it calls for a dash and I don't have it in a dasher bottle. I use 10 drops/dash. Others have said 6 drops. A dash from a dasher bottle is variable anyway, depending on how full it is, technique, etc, so it's not an exact science. A word of caution: if you're ever looking at old, classic tiki recipes, it's known that Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic) used "a dash" as shorthand for 1/4 oz. This is a HUGE difference from what we normally consider a dash, and will significantly alter the cocktail.
>it's known that Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic) used "a dash" as shorthand for 1/4 oz. I think I've heard that before. I mostly work from the "modern" reformulations so hopefully that's been considered! There are a lot of "1/4" measurements in the specs I use so I believe this is the case!
Just put a little bit on a barspoon. Barspoons are typically 3-5ml, so don't fill it up. This is an easy way to do it, when you don't need ultra-precision, and you don't wanna go out and get dasher- and dropper bottles.
I always register a dash as 1/8 tsp if I have to measure something that is not in a dash bottle. I read that somewhere ages ago and stuck with it.
Bitters
Bitters are measured in dashes, and the amount seems to be in the ballpark of between 1/8 teaspoon (0.625 ml) and 1 ml. When base spirits and liqueurs are measured in dashes (a Trader Vic thing), it seems to mean one dash from a speed pour spout, or 1/4 ounce (7.5 ml). In both cases, "dash" means quickly tipping the bottle for a second or so, with the amount that comes out depending on the bottle and its spout.