The Ultimate Little Shooter Book (Bartender Magazine) - Softcover

Ray Foley has been a bartender for more than 20 years. He is the publisher of Bartender Magazine and the author of Bartending for Dummies. He has appeared on Good Morning America, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee and countless other shows. Ray resides in New Jersey with his wife and partner, Jaclyn.

A Short History of Shot Glasses
by Mark Pickvet

Tiny glass vessels were once filled with lead shot and were then used to clean and support quill pens. This origin of the word "shot" had its beginnings in Europe. The shot glass is also an American term for a tiny drinking vessel used for serving whiskey in single measures. Before the widespread use of the word "shot" in the later nineteenth century, there were a variety of other terms used to describe them.

Dram glasses and firing glasses were popular in England dating back to the early eighteenth century. Dram glasses were cheaply made of thin metals and broke easily but were used heavily in the practice of dramming. Dramming involved drinking several small toasts of rum, gin, brandy, or whiskey in succession ordinarily in lodges, taverns, and even specialty dram shops. Firing glasses were stronger articles of thick glass, particularly the bottoms. They could withstand considerable abuse and were typically slammed up on the table after each successive toast. The resulting noise was comparable to that of a musket firing, hence the name "firing glass." In America, the first generation of tiny whiskey tumblers were referred to as toy whiskey tasters because they were so small (most had capacity of barely an ounce). They date back to the 1830s and were used for sampling whiskey.

One of the most significant eras in shot glass history began in the 1880s and lasted up to Prohibition in 1919. The pre-Prohibition whiskey sample glass era consisted of clear or crystal shot-sized glasses with some form of advertising. Naturally the advertising was alcohol-related for proprietors, distillers, store-owners selling whiskey, pharmacists and doctors dispensing liquor, saloons, clubs, and so on. The word "sample" originated from the gimmick of salesmen, peddlers, and agents who offered free samples of the product that they were promoting. Other shot glasses were produced in cut crystal, oily carnival colors, and especially the variety of colors during the Depression era. A new style of shot glass was made during the 1920s and the 1930s; it was 2 7/8 inches tall, narrower, held exactly one ounce, and had an incredibly thick bottom. Some were so thick that the capacity for liquid was less than an ounce and they were often referred to as "cheaters."

Numerous toasts were added to shot glasses such as "Here's Looking at You,""Bottoms Up,""Down the Hatch,""Just a Swallow," and many others. In the post-Depression era, the decorated tumbler soon became the most popular medium for shot glass production. Machine-applied enamels and heat-transfers were cheaply fused to shot glasses in huge numbers. Shot glasses decorated with advertising, sports teams, Christmas and other holidays, plain patterns, and the thousands of tourist glasses have assailed the post- Depression era. Production of thick durable shot glasses for bar use has never wavered since the time of the firing glass.

Aardvark
1/3 oz. Parfait Amour
1/3 oz. Tia Maria
1/3 oz. cream

ABC
1/2 oz. amaretto
1/2 oz. Baileys Irish Cream
1/2 oz. Cointreau

Build.

A-Bomb
1/4 oz. Kahlúa
1/4 oz. Frïs vodka
1/4 oz. Baileys Irish Cream
1/4 oz. Tia Maria liqueur

Shake with ice and strain.