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Glass Shapes Can Make Us Drink Too Much
Roland Piquepaille writes "Some people think that a glass is half empty while others see it as half full. But one thing is sure: some glasses are fuller than others. According to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), researchers from Cornell University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have shown that short glasses are more likely to lead to over-indulgence. In fact, people pour 20-30 percent more alcohol into short, wide glasses than into tall, narrow ones of the same volume. The researchers obtained similar results with students and professional bartenders. So, as New Year's Eve is coming, remember to use only tall glasses for your party!!!"
Use short glasses when someone else is buying the liquor, tall when you are.
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Shouldn't that be "use only short glasses"? It's New Year's Eve, after all.
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We should all switch to plates for our beverages.
About 15 years ago bars started selling novelty shots in test tubes.
I have no idea whether it makes a difference, because once people start ordering shots, the party's only started.
As I ex-bartender/waiter (blah blah long time ago)...
It's all to do with the bubbles/throth/thewhitelayerthingymagig. How you pour the beer in determines how the liquid flows into the glass. The smoother the flow and less disturbance of the pour, the less bubbles (CO2) you are going to get formed. You can see this when you pour cola into a glass as well! IMHO is that short, wide glasses (if you pour it right),tend to make for this smooth flow of liquid, hence less bubbles. One is more more likely to distuble the pour of the liquid in a Tall, narrow glasses of the same volume - hence leading to more bubbles and less grog.
-- It's all in the Technique and bubbles.
Yep. Personally, I drink too fast, even with tea. With alcohol, in a bar, it's worse, because I get bored in bars and don't really get into the conversations others are having. Let's face it: bars aren't exactly the most stimulating environment for guys who like science and technology and sci-fi. OK, theres an oldish fantasy element to some bars, but that fades fast :) Basically, it's about self-control, and social periphery. If you don't want to get drunk, and you drink to fast, then try orange juice.
I'm confused.
Don't you have "optics" in the USA?
Over here, the amount of alcohol you get isn't at the whim of the bartender. Spirit bottles are hung with optics which are of a standardised size (usually 35ml, IIRC, but it can vary -- regardless, the volume used in a particular establishment must be clearly advertised on a notice somewhere near the bar). The barman/barmaid simply pushes the glass against the optic; it discharges until it's empty; they remove the glass, now containing a standard measure; the optic refills ready for the next shot.
Relying on the bar staff to count to four sounds absolutely ridiculous to me. How fast do you count? If I'm paying a given, standard amount of money for a shot, I want to know I'm getting my money's worth, not a smaller volume! Of course, this means you can't get a larger volume, too, but hey...
Yes but here we aren't as anal about the amount of alcohol we serve. No marks on our pint glasses and and bartenders free hand. As a bartender its much faster than using those silly dispensers, and when done right, its accurate enough.
Spencer Ogden
Evidently "bartender" does not mean the same where you are as it does where I am. Here, a bartender is generally a mixologist - someone skilled at and knowledgeable about mixing drinks. Pouring a draught beer is easy. Expertly and stylishly making a Long Island Iced Tea or a Lemon Cheesecake Martini, or even for that matter just making a good gin martini, takes a lot more skill than that.
American bartenders are sometimes hired with no training and learn on the job - this is actually very common. But many people attend a bartending school to get the basics and learn about 100 drinks to start them off. I have done this, and it was a great experience even though I have not worked in a bar since before I went to the school for it. (Note that it's generally 40 hours of training, not an associate's degree or anything.)
As to using an "optic" (although I had not heard it called that until this thread, I know what you refer to), American patrons despise the things. Also, they do not measure anything but one-shot increments, so if you are making a drink that requires 1-1/2 oz. of one liquor, 1 oz. of another, 3/4 oz. of another, and 1/2 oz. of a fourth, you can't do it with such a device. Using measuring glasses is also problematic because they only tend to come in 1 oz. and 1-1/2 oz. sizes.
Counting is also not a good idea, as each bartender will have his or her own count. Basically, you practice pouring with the spout until you can personally accurately pour every quantity of liquor you will foreseeably need. That means 1/4 oz., 1/2 oz, 3/4 oz., 1 oz., 1-1/2 oz., and then you can work from there to get any greater quantity you might need (although more than 2 oz. is rare in mixed drinks, and even more than 1-1/2 oz. is somewhat uncommon).
Bartenders learn to do this by feel. Part of it is counting, part is watching the liquor, and part is just the feel of it pouring out of the bottle. It comes with experience.
Like I said, in America "bartender" is a very different job from much of the rest of the world.
American beer, for similar reasons, is best served in small glasses, and chilled to the extreme to kill the taste.
Bah, you haven't been to the US in quite a while or take it. Either that or you come to the US and drink Budweiser, Coors or some other crap. Don't DO that!
Many of our locally crafted beers are quite tasty, but are never shipped to Europe. I'm a big fan of the amber beers from the American West Coast (Mostly around Seattle, Portland and San Francisco)-- it's hard to get anything like that in Western Europe or the UK, although I've had some small batches of great amber brews in the Czech Republic and Austria.
And I'll admit that I've never been to Belgium.
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