Measuring

Jigger

A jigger is a double-ended measure: two cups of different sizes joined at the waist, each filled to the brim for an exact pour. Our shop’s jigger measures 25ml and 50ml, the pub single and double, while a 30/45ml jigger such as Urban Bar’s own Mr Slim fits recipes that move in 15ml steps. It measures the spirit, juice and syrup in nearly every shaken or stirred drink.

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A brushed stainless steel double jigger standing upright, two cones of similar size joined at a narrow waist, on a white background.

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Essential Equipment

Recommended for every home bar

The tool

About the Jigger

We Make One

Our double jigger in food-grade stainless steel, measuring 25ml and 50ml, the British single and double. Silver, gold, gunmetal or copper.

Stainless Steel Jigger, 25ml/50ml

Two Cups, Two Exact Measures

A jigger is exact in one place: the brim. Fill either cup level with the rim and you have its stated measure; anything in between needs an inner line.

The two common shapes measure the same way. A bell jigger is short and wide, and a Japanese jigger is tall and slim, which makes its inner lines easier to read.

British Pubs Pour 25ml or 35ml

Under article 3 of the Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) Order 1988, a bar serving gin, rum, vodka and whisky by the measure must use 25ml or 35ml, or multiples of that measure, and picks one system for the whole premises.

That is why our jigger is 25/50ml. A 35/70ml jigger serves a bar that pours the larger single.

Jigger sizes and what they suit

25/50ml

Pours at the brim: A UK single and double on the 25ml system
Suits: Pub measures, and recipes written in 25ml steps

35/70ml

Pours at the brim: A UK single and double on the 35ml system
Suits: Bars that pour the larger single

30/45ml

Pours at the brim: 30ml and 45ml, often with a 15ml line
Suits: Recipes in 15ml steps, which is most of ours

30/60ml

Pours at the brim: 30ml and 60ml
Suits: Drinks built on 60ml of spirit

Jigger	Pours at the brim	Suits
25/50ml	A UK single and double on the 25ml system	Pub measures, and recipes written in 25ml steps
35/70ml	A UK single and double on the 35ml system	Bars that pour the larger single
30/45ml	30ml and 45ml, often with a 15ml line	Recipes in 15ml steps, which is most of ours
30/60ml	30ml and 60ml	Drinks built on 60ml of spirit

Our Recipes Run in 15ml Steps

Most of our measures are 15, 22.5, 30, 45 or 60ml. The Paper Plane is four 30ml parts, and the Tom Collins is built on 60ml, 30ml and 15ml, so a 30/45ml jigger with a 15ml line pours both.

Smaller amounts need a line or a spoon. The Vesper takes 7.5ml of Lillet Blanc, and a guess at that size easily comes out at twice the measure.

Fill to the Brim and Read at Eye Level

Keep pouring until the liquid reaches the rim. Stopping a little short on each ingredient leaves the drink both small and out of balance, because the shortfall is rarely the same twice.

For an inner line, stand the jigger on the counter and bring your eye down to it. Seen from over the top, a cone looks fuller than it is.

Using it

Using the Jigger

Usage

Measuring spirits, liqueurs, juice and syrup for cocktails. A 25/50ml jigger gives the British single and double; a 30/45ml one suits most of our recipes, which run in 15ml steps, and inner lines cover 15ml and 22.5ml.

Pro Tip

Measure the cheaper ingredients first. If a pour goes wrong, you tip away lemon juice rather than the spirit.

Professional Tips

Fill each cup until the liquid is level with the rim.
Hold it over the shaker tin while you fill, so any spill lands in the drink.
Check an inner line with the jigger standing on the counter and your eye level with it.
Measure thin ingredients before sticky ones, so syrup does not short the next pour.

Alternatives

Budget Alternative

An unplated stainless jigger with its sizes stamped on. For amounts under 25ml, kitchen measuring spoons are more accurate than a guess in a cone.

Premium Option

A heavier jigger with etched inner lines at 15ml and 22.5ml. The lines save a second tool; the weight only makes it steadier to hold.

Specifications

Material
Stainless steel, sometimes plated
Capacity
25/50ml (our shop’s jigger); Urban Bar’s own listings run 20/40ml, 25/50ml, 30/45ml and 30/60ml, with inner lines at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or 45ml depending on the model
Details
Two cups joined at the waist: the bell pattern short and wide, the Japanese pattern tall and slim

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What size is a jigger in the UK?

Our shop’s jigger pairs a 25ml cup with a 50ml cup, the single and double served in pubs. A bar on the 35ml single needs 35ml and 70ml. Urban Bar’s own listings add 20/40ml, 30/45ml and 30/60ml measures with inner lines for smaller amounts.

What are the UK pub measures for spirits?

Under article 3 of the Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) Order 1988, a British bar sells gin, rum, vodka and whisky in measures of 25ml or 35ml, or multiples of that size, and keeps to one system. A double is therefore 50ml or 70ml. Liqueurs and cocktails have no set measure.

How do you use a jigger accurately?

Hold it over the shaker tin, fill it right to the rim, then empty it in one movement. For an inner line, stand the jigger on the counter and crouch until your eye is level with it. Looking down into the cup makes it seem fuller than it is.

How many ml is a jigger?

There is no single size. In Britain it usually means a 25ml and 50ml measure. The Oxford Companion says the American jigger shrank from two ounces to an ounce and a half or less in the twentieth century, and the Cocktail Renaissance restored two ounces. Read the sizes marked on yours, and follow the millilitres in a recipe.

Is a shot glass accurate enough to measure with?

Only a marked one. Some shot glasses are lined or stamped at 25ml or 35ml; many novelty glasses are made to no stated volume. For half measures, a jigger with inner lines or a measuring spoon is more accurate.

Why measure instead of free pouring?

Because a cocktail is a set of proportions. A Paper Plane is four equal 30ml parts; pour one of them 10ml heavy and that ingredient leads the drink. Bartenders who free pour practise it with the same bottles and spouts every shift.

How do you measure 7.5ml?

Our Vesper and Bobby Burns both use it. Filling a 15ml cup halfway up does not give 7.5ml, because the cone narrows towards the bottom. Use a 7.5ml inner line if the jigger has one, or a 5ml and a 2.5ml measuring spoon together.

What is a Japanese jigger?

A tall, slim double measure, not the short, wide bell shape. Urban Bar’s own Mr Slim is the pattern: 30ml and 45ml to the brim, with inner lines at 10, 15, 20 and 30ml by its listing. The narrow cups make a line easier to read and a pour easier to control, and it suits our recipes in 15ml steps.

Sources.

Checked between 18 October and 20 October 2026.

Jerry Can Spirits shop, “Stainless Steel Jigger, 25ml/50ml”.
Urban Bar, “Mr Slim Jigger 30/45ml” (30ml and 45ml to the brim; interior lines at 10, 20, 15 and 30ml).
Urban Bar, “Mr Slim Jigger 30/60ml” (interior line at 45ml).
legislation.gov.uk, “The Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) Order 1988, article 3” (gin, rum, vodka and whisky in 25ml or 35ml, or multiples, one quantity per premises).
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (David Wondrich), “jigger” (secondary source: purpose-made jiggers from the 1870s; the double jigger by the end of the nineteenth century; the size slipping from two ounces to an ounce and a half in the twentieth century).
Google Patents, “Design for a jigger, US design patent 22,768 (C. P. Dungan, 5 September 1893)” (primary: “two hollow cones cut off at a short distance from their points and placed point to point”).

Master the Technique

Why the jigger is the first upgrade The jigger, the shaker and the strainer Measure every ingredient with a jigger

Make something

Made with the Jigger

Used In These Cocktails

Vesper Paper Plane Tom Collins Grand Margarita Boulevardier

Related Equipment

Updated 20 October 2026

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