So what is a "short"?

BetterThanThou

I'd always assumed a short and a shot were the same thing, but in different glassware, a shot being in a shot glass and a short being in a sipping glass. But I was looking at a bar menu, and they have both, but priced differently. Is there a difference between them? Or is the bar in question pretty much charging more for having your drink in a sipping glass?

odyssey06

Just curious what was the price difference and which one was cheaper???
Like yourself, I always assumed they would be priced the same.

As an aside, remember that in Discworld asking for a short in a dwarf bar is tantamount to suicide.

moleyv

Lots of bars serve shots (tequilla, jager etc) as 25ml.

A short is an ambiguous term but is usually a standard measure of 35.5ml.

Maybe....

L1011

moleyv wrote: »

Lots of bars serve shots (tequilla, jager etc) as 25ml.

A short is an ambiguous term but is usually a standard measure of 35.5ml.

Maybe....

The menu/price list should make this fairly clear (by law), if this is what they're doing, but its a fairly reliable explanation.

Are these different prices for shorts/shots of the same product?

Lovely Bloke

To my mind, a shot is a drink to be "downed in one" like a Jaeger, Tequila or Sambucca.

A Short is the opposite of a Long.

A long is a mixed spirit - Gin & Tonic for example, Jemmy & Red.

A Short is a straight whiskey. To be sipped.

moleyv

Baldy Conscience wrote:

A Short is a straight whiskey. To be sipped.

Yeah but lots of people when buying a drink for a friend will ask 'will you have a pint or a short'

By short they mean whiskey, gin, rum or vodka. And they mean with a mixer, not just straight.

I would agree with you about a short being straight, but not limited to whiskey. But a lot of people definitely just use it as another word for spirit, mixed or straight.

My guess is that the OP bar does not use optics but measure out each spirit. And give the customer the option of shot (25ml, also the standard uk measure) or a short (35.5ml Irish standard measure).

Pure speculation though....

Lovely Bloke

I didn't even know spirits were allowed to be sold as 25ml measures in this country.

moleyv

Baldy Conscience wrote:

I didn't even know spirits were allowed to be sold as 25ml measures in this country.

I don't see why not if they clearly state it on price board.

They couldn't go calling it a standard measure.

But most bars, in particular late bars and nite club shot glasses will be 25ml. Makes certain shots seem like even more of a rip off eh. But I'm sure they clearly state this on a price board somewhere.

But they usually have the standard measure for your normal spirits.

L1011

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

I didn't even know spirits were allowed to be sold as 25ml measures in this country.

The price list needs to show the 33.5 price and the lower or higher measure be a % of that proportionate to its size - I think.

coylemj

moleyv wrote: »

Yeah but lots of people when buying a drink for a friend will ask 'will you have a pint or a short'

By short they mean whiskey, gin, rum or vodka. And they mean with a mixer, not just straight.

Agree with your first statement only - 'short' is an abbreviation of 'short measure', meaning a drink that's sold in small volumes like spirits and fortified wines such as port and sherry.

But it makes no odds whether there's a mixer or not, the designation of 'short' refers to the original measure, regardless of what you may or may not add to it.

moleyv

coylemj wrote:

Agree with your first statement only - 'short' is an abbreviation of 'short measure', meaning a drink that's sold in small volumes like spirits and fortified wines such as port and sherry.

Probably best to read the rest of what I said then...

moleyv wrote:

I would agree with you about a short being straight, but not limited to whiskey. But a lot of people definitely just use it as another word for spirit, mixed or straight.

the beer revolu

L1011 wrote: »

The price list needs to show the 33.5 price and the lower or higher measure be a % of that proportionate to its size - I think.

Almost exactly right but the standard measure is 35.5ml

Louche Lad

the beer revolu wrote: »

Almost exactly right but the standard measure is 35.5ml

I've never understood the rationale for a measure of 35.5 ml. Why the ".5"? If it were 35 ml it would be a twentieth of a standard bottle of whiskey or gin etc. which would be more convenient, surely? Or 33.3 ml, which would be a convenient thirtieth of a litre. But 35.5 ml?? WTF?? It doesn't seem to be a reasonable conversion of any imperial unit like a pint or anything.

lk67

Louche Lad wrote: »

I've never understood the rationale for a measure of 35.5 ml. Why the ".5"? If it were 35 ml it would be a twentieth of a standard bottle of whiskey or gin etc. which would be more convenient, surely? Or 33.3 ml, which would be a convenient thirtieth of a litre. But 35.5 ml?? WTF?? It doesn't seem to be a reasonable conversion of any imperial unit like a pint or anything.

I think it's a quarter gill, which is a quarter pint.

coylemj

lk67 wrote: »

I think it's a quarter gill, which is a quarter pint.

+1 it's a straight conversion. The old 'half glass' measure was a quarter gill, a gill (also known as a 'naggin') was a quarter of a pint so the standard spirit measure was 1/16 of a pint. A pint is 568 ml and if you divide that by 16, you get 35.5 ml.

Louche Lad

coylemj wrote: »

+1 it's a straight conversion. The old 'half glass' measure was a quarter gill, a gill (also known as a 'naggin') was a quarter of a pint so the standard spirit measure was 1/16 of a pint. A pint is 568 ml and if you divide that by 16, you get 35.5 ml.

Yes, "quarter of a gill" rings a bell now (I've only really been a pints drinker in pubs).