Ratios and absolutes

[DerekW]

This seems so basic that it must have been either discussed ad infinitum or else readily dismissed by explanation, but the search function and I have been unable to clear things up, so, with your indulgence;

Why do so many cocktail receipts combine absolute measurements such as "a teaspoon" with ratio measurements like "one part X, two parts Y", or "1/3X, 1/3Y, 1/3Z". Some list things like "4 parts A, four parts B" - that looks very like 1:1, but strongly suggests to me that a 'part' conveyed a given absolute volume to the author. Although I'm an enthusiastic imbiber, it's my guess that those 'parts' are not jiggers or ponies.

The Savoy does this. Harry's little red thumbtab book does it. Others on my shelves do it. In some cases I've arrived at 'house interpretations' but I'm left with the nagging feeling that I'm missing some vital piece of information.

Is there some standard volume at which particular drinks were intended to balance? One to which ratio measures might sensibly be applied while making sense of the spoonscale additions? Where is this information to be found?

Please discuss, or point me to the pre-existing resolution.

slainte

Derek

Edited November 25, 2009 by DerekW (log)

[brinza]

That is annoying when recipes mix parts with absolute measurements. I hate that. OTOH, I do prefer ratio formulas to fixed measurement formulas because it's much easier to scale the drink up or down.

I've noticed that David Embury uses parts for his recipes and then follows that up with "a dash of [bitters/liqueur/etc] to each drink. (italics mine) He assumes that the reader is likely going to make a batch of drinks, not just one, thus the parts. But he makes it clear that you understand that the dash of bitters or whatever is one per drink, not one per batch. I suppose that just prior to pouring your drinks, you would decide how many servings you are going to divide it into, then add the appropriate number of dashes. And yes, since most of his ratios are 8:2:1, the "parts" are most certainly not jiggers or ponies unless you're making a lot of drinks. The thing I dislike the most is when recipes actually say jigger or shot, because you really don't know what the author has in mind, unless they state it up front (I have at least one book that does that).

My personal preference is 1.5 to 2 oz of the primary spirit and everything else proportioned accordingly. When I see a recipe that calls for something like 3 oz of the primary spirit, I almost always scale it down. If following an 8:2:1 formula, I usually assume the "part" to be 1/4 oz, thus the 8 becomes two ounces. I could also specify the part as 5ml so that that 8 parts would be 40ml, just shy of 1.5 oz.