The Slightly Morbid Reason We Tap Our Glasses on the Bar Before Doing a Shot (2024)
Clinking your glass against those of your drinking buddies before you all knock back shots seems a little like high-fiving, fist-bumping, or some other motion of camaraderie. And that’s pretty much what the most popular theory behind the tradition boils down to. In ancient times, people just passed around a single cup—so when that got phased out in favor of separate receptacles, tapping them together maintained that same sense of kinship.
And if you have any experience taking shots in a bar (or really just being in a bar), you may have noticed another trend: After the cheers, people often tap their glasses on the bar or table before drinking. As with regular toasts, it’s not clear exactly when, where, or why this custom began. But these days, most drinkers will cite one of two common reasons behind it. The first is slightly more morbid than you may have expected.
Dating back to ancient times, again, drinkers sometimes “poured one out”—literally poured a beverage on the ground—as a tribute to deceased comrades or loved ones who would otherwise have been there imbibing with them. As Vine Pair explains, many consider tapping your glass on the bar a modern-day, less wasteful way of doing the same thing.
If you’re not keen on thinking about loss and death every time you do a tequila shot, you might prefer the second reason for the tap: It’s simply a sign of respect to the bartender, the waitstaff, and the establishment overall. Since the toast is for your buddies and the drink itself is for you, it makes sense that you’d add in a little hat-tip to the place that made it all possible.
Those aren’t the only two explanations attached to the tradition. Some say, for example, it’s rooted in an old Irish superstition whereby tapping your glass on the table rids your drink of evil spirits. Whatever the case, your bartender will definitely appreciate a tap much more than a full drink dumped on the floor.
Some people tap their glass on the bar as a quiet tribute to absent friends and comrades. In Ireland, it was believed that liquor contained spirits that might be harmful if consumed, and tapping the glass dispelled those spirits.
They are useful for precise measurement of co*cktail ingredients, as well as in cooking recipes that call for multiples of a smaller unit (e.g. several teaspoons), allowing the dispensing of the amount in a single measure.
According to beliefs, clinking the glasses before enjoying a drink is a custom to enhance our senses. When a group of people sits together to celebrate, usually they raise a toast or clink their glasses to show togetherness and the feeling of oneness.
Shot glasses were first popular in the American Old West. Cowboys who wanted a drink but didn't have the money for a whole glass would give the bartender one of their bullets in exchange for whiskey. The resulting beverage was called a shot, or “shot glass” of whiskey because of this practice.
Likewise, tapping your glass or mug on the bar signified when you started a new glass. Fraternity members frequently claim that it's an old Greek tradition. -Others say that it's a mark of respect to the bartender. Some believe that you cheers to the future, but a tap on the bar acknowledges the past.
Shot glasses are most often used for drinking straight liquor (or “taking a shot”) but can also be used for measuring espresso for coffee drinks or serving personal dessert portions. A shot glass usually features a thick bottom to help prevent it from breaking when customers slam them on the bar after taking shots.
You may crack the wine glass. Even if you don't break the glass during your toast, the repeated clinking can weaken the glass and make it more prone to breakage. Another downside of clinking rims: you're more likely to spill wine. To clink the rims of the glass, you have to tilt the glass toward your guest.
And if you have any experience taking shots in a bar (or really just being in a bar), you may have noticed another trend: After the cheers, people often tap their glasses on the bar or table before drinking. As with regular toasts, it's not clear exactly when, where, or why this custom began.
Why do we clink glasses when we toast? In most cultures, there existed some form of honoring the gods before drinking. Wine was commonly offered in exchange for good health. The act of clinking them together would spill some to leave behind for the gods, or perhaps to bribe evil spirits to leave you alone.
A co*cktail jigger is a shot or co*cktail measuring cup for bartenders, ranging in sizes of 0.5-2.5 oz. For ease of use, many jiggers have fill lines on the inside or outside with oft-used co*cktail or shot glass measurements.
A regular shot glass typically holds about 1.5 ounces (44 milliliters) of liquid. This amount is the standard shot size used in many bars and restaurants, and it's the amount of alcohol used to make a single shot of liquor. It is often called a “jigger” or “pony.”
Shot glass aren't just suitable for serving up sweet drinks and desserts. They are also very handy when it comes to displaying savoury canapés and small starters such as these fancy looking shrimp shots.
Designed to be the ultimate vessel for whiskey flavour delivery, the NEAT (Naturally Engineered Aroma Technology) Glass has a large surface area and curved sides, allowing for maximum evaporation to bring smell from and centre. The wide rim let the alcohol dissipate, enhance the whiskey's other flavours.
One of the nice things about collecting shotglasses is their cost. They are very inexpensive. You can find them everywhere. Garage sales seem to be the cheapest place to pick them up if you aren't particular about how you acquired your glasses, which is sometimes half the fun of collecting them.
Thick bottoms maintain the temperature of the drink. As the glass is thicker on the bottom, a drinker's hand doesn't warm up to the liquid (which can change the flavor).
Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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