Yes, There Is a Wrong Way to Clean Your Jigger — and This Is It

For anyone who’s ever made a cocktail at home, it’s not difficult to imagine how messy workstations in bars and restaurants can get if equipment, bottles, and counters aren’t repeatedly wiped down during service. Which is why the vast majority of working bartenders have streamlined their processes to ensure everything stays as clean as possible. But some bar tools — like jiggers, for example — are used more frequently than others and thus require more persistent cleaning. And while most mixologists have historically considered rinsing with water the most effective method of keeping things sanitary behind the bar, a recent Reddit post revealed a new way to “clean” them during service. And to say the least, it’s weird.

Rather than rinsing their jigger with water from a tap, user No-Tower5603 revealed on the r/bartenders subreddit that they simply drop theirs in a bucket glass filled with club soda. Keeping it stored there has allegedly “[kept] things from getting stuck to it,” so long as the cup is changed “a couple times a shift.”

The post, titled “So what do you do with your jigger during a shift?” prompted a number of interesting responses, number one being confusion over the fact that this person isn’t just rinsing it with water. “I rinse it out like a normal person,” user Extra_Work7379 commented. “I use it to measure ingredients. I rinse it [and] let it sit dry between measurements,” said user goatoffering. A simple “Not that” is all user ErrantAmerican had to say about this bizarre cleaning method.

Other users, like nimatoad62, were more preoccupied with what motivated the original poster (OP) to even use this technique in the first place. “I’m so genuinely confused by the question. What are the things getting stuck to it?? You just rinse and reuse,” they said. “The only time I’m ever concerned is if I jigger something that Fernet that lingers and it needs a longer rinse or I switch jiggers, but you give it sniff if you’re concerned. I generally have 2-3 jiggers on station. (sic)”

The post took on a life of its own in the subreddit, with fellow bartenders trolling OP by posting pictures of them rinsing their jiggers in pineapple juice, Red Bull, the first pour of a new keg, frozen cocktails, and even toilet water. Others took things in a different direction, saying there’s no point in cleaning them if you throw them out after every use, or that there’s no need to rinse if you don’t even use one at all.

Naturally, we had a few questions regarding the appropriate way to clean a jigger during a shift, so we reached out to Trey Sanford, bar manager at Anchorage, Alaska’s South Restaurant + Coffeehouse for more information.

“Toilet water? Pineapple juice? The real pros use Mountain Dew!,” Sanford quips. “Jokes aside, I think soaking in soda is kind of a bozo move.”

Rather than dropping the tool in club soda, Sanford says they should simply be rinsed out when necessary, or bartenders can opt to use different jiggers when building rounds. At South, bartenders have access to an almost unlimited number of jiggers thanks to the establishment’s educational program that involves teaching classes to the public. However, if a new tool isn’t available, rinsing is really the most practical way to go. And it’s entirely effective.

“[At South], there is a hand washing sink right next to the well for easy rinsing, but I don’t think jiggers even need to be rinsed between every single use. They’re food safe since no one’s lips or germs are touching them,” he says. “A quick rinse between different spirits is fine, but ingredients like Campari or coffee liqueur might need a little more cleaning as their flavor tends to permeate.”

The article Yes, There Is a Wrong Way to Clean Your Jigger — and This Is It appeared first on VinePair.