Drink-making has always been a somewhat exacting science, and yet one of the most commonly called-upon units of measurement—the dash—isn’t really a measurement at all.
“It’s like making a soup and saying that you’re going to add a pinch of salt,” says co*cktail Kingdom’s Director of Product Development, Don Lee. “A dash is this elusive thing that really doesn’t exist—much like the pinch, [it’s] something you actually kind of do to taste.”
It was about seven years ago that Lee—who is no stranger to at-home science projects—began questioning why the dash, despite its numerous references in co*cktail recipes dating back over a century, had never been properly defined. After setting up a camera and a scale, he proceeded to empty three full bottles of Angostura bitters, one by one, documenting the weight of each dash to the tenth of a gram and logging the results in a spreadsheet.
“I had what I considered a fairly good sample size,” says Lee, who went on to determine that 41 dashes of Angostura bitters equaled one ounce of liquid. From there, he used the measurement to inform his next project: a precise dasher top that fits on just about any bottle (Angostura, Peychaud’s or Regan’s) to ensureconsistency between dashes—and drinks.
But some bartenders, like Pietro Collina of New York’s NoMad Bar, suggest that opting for a proper dasher is just the beginning. “It is very hard to standardize the dash because bartenders have different styles,” says Collina. “Some bartenders like to do long, slow dashes, which resultsin a higher volume, while others prefer short, aggressive jabs.” That’s why, in addition to transferring bitters into Japanese-style dasher bottles, the bar pays careful attention to the training of their staff to assure that everyone uses a similar technique.
Thosedasher bottles, especially the Japanese-style ones, have also opened up a new line of creativity and flexibility in drink-making, says Alex Day, who’s behind a number of bars in New York and LA, including Death & Co. and Honeycut. “They actually, when you turn it upside down, [yield] … about a third of a dash,” he says, which allows for even smaller percentages of bitters, highly concentrated tinctures and the like to be carefully worked into co*cktails.
But that level of attention begs the question of how much of an effect one-third of a dash—which, by safe estimate would equate tofar less than one percent of any co*cktail—actually has on a drink’s flavor profile. While many bartenders will assert a perceptible difference in taste, at what point does that level of exactness become inconsequential? Or, perhaps more importantly, what does this kind of pursuit say about current co*cktail culture?
It’s no coincidence that the introduction of Japanese-style dashers to the New York market came at a time when bartenders were rewriting the rules of what it meant to make a drink (and, for that matter, what it meant to be a craft co*cktail bar). Exploring the mechanics of bartending by delving deep into these very minor details was just a step in a larger evolution, wherein bartenders were looking to gain a more complete understanding of what a co*cktailcould be.
Fast forward to today.In very evolved markets, where the renaissance has spurred everything from precise bitters dashers to highly molecular takes on the co*cktail,there’s often a backlash, says Lee, whose most recent project, Boilermaker, tellingly offers a high-quality take on its lowbrow namesake, a beer and a shot.
“When you get to where New York and London are, at least within the bartending community, you get to this point where there’s this general consensus that there is no ‘co*cktails,’” he says. It’s there, perhaps, that the concept of the dash as a measureable, standardized unit, isn’t all that important. But until a bartender can answer theinitial question—What is this thing, the dash, and can it be standardized?—it’s impossible to know where, and how, that knowledge fits into the modern bar, if at all.
“It’s like the last level of kung fu where you realize there is no kung fu,” says Lee. “Everything is kung fu.”
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Tagged: Angostura, bitter hub, bitters, co*cktail Kingdom, co*cktails, Don Lee
I am an enthusiast with a deep understanding of mixology and co*cktail culture, particularly the intricate details involved in crafting the perfect drink. My knowledge extends to the precision required in measurements, and I'm well-versed in the evolution of bartending practices. Allow me to shed light on the fascinating world of drink-making, focusing on the article you provided.
In the realm of mixology, the seemingly informal unit of measurement known as the "dash" has been a longstanding mystery. Don Lee, co*cktail Kingdom's Director of Product Development, embarked on a quest to demystify the dash about seven years ago. He meticulously weighed the dashes of Angostura bitters, a common ingredient in co*cktails, to the tenth of a gram, documenting the results. His extensive experimentation revealed that 41 dashes equaled one ounce of liquid.
Lee's dedication didn't stop there; he used this newfound precision to develop a dasher top that could fit on various bitters bottles, ensuring consistency in dashes and subsequently, in drinks. This innovation was a response to the lack of a standardized definition for the dash, a term commonly found in co*cktail recipes dating back over a century.
However, the pursuit of precision faces challenges in the diverse styles of bartenders. Some, like Pietro Collina of New York's NoMad Bar, prefer long, slow dashes, while others opt for short, aggressive jabs. To address this, some bars, including NoMad Bar, not only use specialized dasher bottles but also emphasize staff training to maintain a consistent technique.
The introduction of Japanese-style dasher bottles has further enhanced creativity in drink-making. According to Alex Day, a figure behind bars like Death & Co. and Honeycut, these bottles allow for even smaller percentages of ingredients, such as highly concentrated tinctures, to be meticulously incorporated into co*cktails.
The article raises intriguing questions about the impact of such precision on a drink's flavor profile. Despite the minute quantities involved, bartenders argue that even one-third of a dash can make a perceptible difference. This attention to detail reflects a broader trend in the co*cktail culture, where bartenders explore the minutiae to gain a comprehensive understanding of what a co*cktail can truly be.
As the article suggests, in advanced markets like New York and London, where bartenders challenge traditional norms, there's a growing consensus that the concept of a standardized unit like the dash becomes less crucial. However, until the question of standardization is definitively answered, the role of the dash in the modern bar remains a subject of contemplation within the evolving landscape of co*cktail culture.
