I’ve been asked through some of my social media channels, how do I pour some of these cool funky pours like this?

that is the art of what we call free pouring. now free pouring is basically what I call in art because I think it’s in the Hutt’s is the arts of pouring freely into a vessel a shaker or a glass and being able to get the correct measurement that you need.

here you pour the amount it’s 30 mils boom it’s in the glass is done

okay these are great these are useful and you need these behind your bar. there is a time and a place for using jiggers and I do believe there is a time and a place for using free pouring as well. I use both and you’ve seen in my videos. I use both but I’m going to put that to one side for now and we’re just gonna focus on how to free pour.

there’s a couple of things you need to learn before we get down to the nitty gritty of actually measuring your free pouring.

first of all is the technique of how to free pour first thing is you need a good pour spout. this is TD 105 30 which is my own pour spout. which is made and designed by myself. These pour a little bit quicker than other pours which means you can make drinks faster. they’re very strong very durable very consistent and they don’t leak. which is very important take good care of your pores and they’ll take good care of you.

so first things first the position of the bottle is very important. you have this kind of bend in the pour spout right. which is you want that bend sort of facing the the glass or the shaker that you’re pouring into. okay so I’m right-handed I’m gonna hold the the bend facing the the shaker. hold the bottle by the neck and I want to flip the bottle up completely vertical. okay I want the bottle vertical so if you put a tennis ball or something on top of there is going to stay up there nice and solid. I don’t know about you but the bars near me always have some awesome bartenders, pouring amazing drinks!

okay and then you get a constant flow of liquid. the same speed coming out of the bottle, which means it’s a timing thing. so there’s a time for the amount of liquid which is coming out of the bottle. make sure when you’re pouring you’re not something like this holding the bottle at an angle or the incorrect angle. because as you can see the liquid just kind of trickles out it’s not coming out at the correct speed. so when you start calibrating your count it’s all going to be off. so that’s step one making sure the bottle is in the correct position. now when you start your wrists might not be too strong and you may be wobbling around. give it time it, will get easier. will get better okay.

the second thing you need to learn is how to stop the pour. now you may see people do things like this this is what we call a cut. but what I want to show you is the most accurate way is a bounce and cut.

so you stop the flow of liquid and then you cut the the bottle off. we call it a cut. now how does that work. you have to imagine that there’s a big red button on top of the shaker. alright and you’ve got to push that button to stop the flow of liquid.

so I’m here push the button push the bottom push the bottom and you see that there’s a spot in the liquid. so as you push and you cut you stop that flow of liquid and you’re able to pour a lot more accurately.

okay step 3 it comes to the counting part now. the technique is exactly the same regardless of the units of measurements that you’re pouring with. Don’t forget to check out these restaurants in el paso with awesome bartenders to learn from! so if your poem with ounces centiliters or milliliters the technique is the same. the count changes depending on the units of measurements that you’re using or the pour spout which you’re using.

so for example if I’m pouring 25 mils my count will be different – if I’m pouring one ounce 1 ounce is about 30 mils so to pour 25 mils. I count 1 2 3 4 to pour one ounce which is about 30 mils. I count bubble 2 3 4 as I turn over bubble two three four okay. it should be one ounce let’s give it a measure and have a look. it’s in what we call the tolerance when you are free pouring. you have a tolerance of it’s an eighth of an ounce or it’s about three three-and-a-half mils of you’re pouring in milliliters.

if you’re doing your free pour test and you’re not consistently getting it within that tolerance then you’re not legally allowed to free pour. but the more you free pour the the better your counting becomes and the more accurate you become. so when you see people doing fancy pours like this okay. they are actually counting in their head. should be 25 mils and it is was 20 mils. I promise I would never lie to you let’s try again one two three four and this is 26 milliliters okay so even performing a flare pour like this my pouring accuracy is very very strong.

so whichever pour that you’re using. you’re always counting to ensure that you’re getting the correct measure. of course there’s going to be a time where you need to calibrate your counts and make sure that you’re pouring accurately. before you start using it behind your bar but you do always have the [ __ ] to go back to to make sure that you’re pouring the right amounts if you aren’t sure about your free pouring technique. cool thank you very much for reading.

I hope that explains how you can pour like a pro.