When I say dram I really mean...

[sparky]

A dram of whisky is a fairly small portion. Presently I am enjoying a jigger. Is "dram" just a catchy understatement of how much you actually drink? Confess!

[Deactivated Member]

Would you like to translate into "cl" please.

MT

[sparky]

1 dram = 0.36 cl
1 pony = 2.9 cl
1 jigger = 4.4 cl
1 snit = 8.9 cl
1 split = 17.7 cl
1 pint = 47.3 cl

[les taylor]

Hi sparky welcome to the forums. For me it would be about 2cl. I guess on your scale anything from dram to a pony.

[Wave]

A "dram" is whatever you want it to be, thimble-sized to a full highball glass. It depends on how generous you feel at the time.


Cheers!

[Ann-Helen]

when i pour whisky in my glas its usually somwhere in between dram and pony I`ve measured it once it was about 2 cl .

[Di Blasi]

Here in Norway, a jigger is closest to what we pour as a dram, 4cl to be precise. And it's illegal to pour doubles, ie more than 4cl of the same alcohol into the same glass, thus we must pour 2, silly really. But then it gets silllier in that if you make an international cocktail, it's totally fine to mix various liquors into the same glass, as many cl as the customer is willing to pay for, and since "it's so expensive in Norway," (bla bla bla), no one ever has a true Long Island Ice Tea for example, which I guess must be about 10cl or so.
I generally pour myself about 2-4 cl when I'm at home, depending on the mood. And when I'm out, I'll usually order 2cl in order to have a taste of something.

[Bullie]

when i pour whisky in my glas its usually somwhere in between dram and pony I`ve measured it once it was about 2 cl .

Just about the same here... Depends if I pour it for myself a saturday evening or if I pour for a 50 person tasting...

[vitara7]

depends on how heavy my right hand is

[martin grant]

Usually I pour myself between a dram and a pony, although if I'm having a quiet Saturday night in it's more likely to be a jigger

[Rory B Bellows]

I just grab a glass and pour.

[Deactivated Member]

There are several different technical definitions of a dram, depending on context. A dram of perfume is a specific (and rsather small, as I recall) amount, for example. In whisky usage, it's just a serving--whatever you want it to be.

The standard pour in Scotland, 35ml or about 1 1/4 oz, seems about right for tasting to me. At home, it's probably between an ounce and an ounce and a half. The pub I was in last night poured me about 2 1/2 oz of Glenlivet, enough to accompany two pints of their IPA (a brewpub! A pleasant surprise on the road) and hopefully will again tonight.

[Deactivated Member]

A dram is a dram is a dram with no specific measurement.
If it is to be broken down it can be done so thus; Small, Large, Good Sized or Bloody Big.
Small drams are reserved for those for whom a good sized dram would be overpowering, whereas a bloody big dram is usually administered to lessen the effect of, for example, an invoice from Loch Fyne Whiskies which has been intercepted by Mrs C

[Muskrat Portage]

Sparky:
Welcome to the forum, needless to say you'll find a very eclectic bunch here. Knowledgeable, but eclectic, eh Bruce?

Nice first Poll you've prepared, by the by.

If I were to pick a measure, I would say 1 1/2 ounces is my dram. At a tasting, I drop the measure to 1 tablespoon so that after 12 samples, you are still somewhat coherent, however there is sufficient to actually get the nose and taste sensations.
Muskrat

[Deactivated Member]

Sparky:
Welcome to the forum, needless to say you'll find a very eclectic bunch here. Knowledgeable, but eclectic, eh Bruce?

There are some individuals here who are eclectic all by themselves....

At a tasting, I drop the measure to 1 tablespoon so that after 12 samples, you are still somewhat coherent....
Muskrat

Is that how much it takes? I'll have to try it.

I had a three-ounce dram in the pub attached to my hotel here last night, of Glenlivet 12 (the entire malt selection was that and 'fiddich). I have to say, that was a nice amount for really getting to know and enjoy the whisky. Tastings are wonderful, but a bit artificial, and I'm always a bit wary of notes made in such circumstances. I know that I cannot really begin to understand a malt in such a small sample, nor can I properly taste many consecutive malts. And tasting competitions are another thing altogether--to win such, a product must stand out in some way, and I think brewers and chili chefs, for example, design their entries with that in mind. The same principle applies to some extent to whisky tastings, so that, when I see "Macaskill 42 was the consensus hit of the evening", I take it with a grain of salt. It means that Macaskill 42 was the favorite of those tasters in that context, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it would be the favorite of any of those people in a different (particularly noncompetitive) context.

This is also one, among several, reasons that I don't even think about scoring whiskies.

[TheLaddie]

I tend to keep my drams down to a single unit. I'd rather have two or three different whiskies and remain coherent than sacrifice my short term memory to a larger portion of one whisky.

I sometimes go with bigger portions if I'm trying to finish a specific bottle off though.

[sparky]

I didn't realize that a dram does in fact refer to a serving of whisky as several here have pointed out. It took a lot of searching, but I did finally see a definition of dram that included the context of scotch ad Scotland specifically. So my dram is a jigger (well, it usually approaches 2 pony's (ponies?)).

Thanks for the warm welcome. I have been perusing the forum for a while now and decided to get in on the fun. I am fairly new to scotch, but it has been love at first taste (Talisker 10). Growing up on beer and Canadian Rye whisky, I had no idea that spirits could be so richly flavored.

[jimidrammer]

A pony if I'm doing tasting notes and have several lined up. A jigger if just contemplating a drink or 2 or trying to finish off a bottle. A snit or a split would be a long weekend, and a pint... haven't tried that in 20 years.

[Deactivated Member]

OK, I have now decided that for my own purposes and after seeing the ounces translated to CL, I will personally abide by the following definitions:

One "Wee Dram" = 2cl
One "Dram" = 4cl



Finally, my thanks to Sparky and Mr. T for the technical definitions, but could you now price these measurements in LSD?

(That's not something to inject or sniff, but original Pounds, Shillings and Pence!)

MT

[Muskrat Portage]

..., but could you now price these measurements in LSD? (That's not something to inject or sniff, but original Pounds, Shillings and Pence!)
MT

Scottish Pounds or British Pounds?
Muskrat

[Deactivated Member]

Finally, my thanks to Sparky and Mr. T for the technical definitions, but could you now price these measurements in LSD?

I could ask Timothy Leary, who was from Springfield (and went to the same high school I did). Alas, he is dead.

No, nonono, he's outside....

[toshie]

A dranm is a measure which is equally acceptable to the giver and the receiver

[Scotchio]

Occasionally a pony but usually a jigger

[Jon Barleycorn]

I'm a little worried about the ones in this poll whose "dram" is a "pint". Please say you're talking about beer!

[Paul A Jellis]

I voted for a 'snit' just because I like the sound of it. In reality I'd probably go for a double snit!

[Rudy]

Usually slightly less than 2cl (1.5-1.75) so I can enjoy more different 'drams' during the evening....

[Nock]

I would have to say the jigger is the closest to what I pour.

Usually if I am tasting two or three single malts in a sitting I will pour a pony of each.

But that is rare
and usually I just want to enjoy a malt in the evening.
Then I will pour around 5 cl
so a big jigger

But not enough to be a snit

Nock

[Dan G]

I don't think I've ever used the word dram! And I've never refered to a drink as a snit, but that's about what I usually pour myself. But that lasts 2 to 3 hours quite often, if I'm just at home in the evening.

I usually only have 2 or 3 bottles open at a time, and seldom drink from more than one in a night, but if I wanted to sample more than one kind, I'd probably pour something a bit smaller.

[pkt77242]

Usually I pour a jigger, but if it is a whisky I have not tried yet, I pour a little less.

Sean

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Depends what I'm doing.

If I'm having a few different drams I'd have between 25-50mls depending on how many different drams but on a good night I'd have 15ml in total so 3 jiggers approx but like last night I had less than 20ml so it really depends on mood.

I don't get the drams part of the equation. A dram to me is a single pour whether it is 100ml , 50ml or 20ml ????

[LeoDLion]

I need to translate drams, jiggers, etc. into "fingers". I usually pour two or three fingers and I call that a drink. A finger is when you put your finger horizontally at the bottom of the glass (from outside) and pour up to the level of your finger. Dont try putting your finger vertically, you will get drunk !!! lol

[Ganga]

I need to translate drams, jiggers, etc. into "fingers". I usually pour two or three fingers and I call that a drink. A finger is when you put your finger horizontally at the bottom of the glass (from outside) and pour up to the level of your finger. Dont try putting your finger vertically, you will get drunk !!! lol

Why this sounds like one of those pull my finger jokes. I'm sure someone out there can come up with a jigger watt joke too.

I would say that I have no usual pour as it will vary based upon what I am pouring much more than what is my condition. Better whisky usually results in a smaller pour. As bottle nears bottom, the pours usually become smaller or larger depending on my preservation mood. Cask strength is usally about 1.5 oz before addition of water. Everyday whisky like a Macallan 12, Ardbeg 10 will result in about a 2-3 oz pour. My bartenders well they usually pour me three fingers.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I need to translate drams, jiggers, etc. into "fingers". I usually pour two or three fingers and I call that a drink. A finger is when you put your finger horizontally at the bottom of the glass (from outside) and pour up to the level of your finger. Dont try putting your finger vertically, you will get drunk !!! lol

Yes but it depends on the glass too ....

I've seen some whiskey glasses that look like buckets and a bar measure is just lost in them

[Quaichuser]

I need to translate drams, jiggers, etc. into "fingers". I usually pour two or three fingers and I call that a drink. A finger is when you put your finger horizontally at the bottom of the glass (from outside) and pour up to the level of your finger. Dont try putting your finger vertically, you will get drunk !!! lol

All this time I've been doing the vertical measure, no wonder my bottles don't last long.

Do the 2 fingers have to be on the same hand?

[Feldrin]

Depending on whether I want to taste a lot in an evening or not, I take 1cl or 2cl 'drams'. I've got a jigger with those measurements to make it easier.

Before that I just used to pour from the bottle into the glass. Those were some huge drams I sometimes had, by accident, of course.