Comparison
Shot glass vs jigger: one is for drinking, the other for measuring. Compare sizes, jigger styles and which one suits home cocktails.
The two are often swapped in conversation because the big end of a standard jigger and a standard US shot both come to 1.5 ounces. Behind a bar they do different jobs, though, and only one of them is built to be accurate.
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A jigger is a measuring tool, much like a measuring cup in a kitchen, and a shot glass is a vessel for drinking. Bartenders building a cocktail reach for the jigger because it is calibrated, repeatable and made to pour cleanly. A shot glass exists to be drunk from, and it does that well.
The confusion is understandable, since people say a shot and a jigger to mean the same 1.5 ounce pour. The name describes the amount; the object decides how reliably you can hit it.
In the US a standard shot is 1.5 fluid ounces and the larger side of a standard jigger holds the same, so the volumes overlap. The gap opens in the glass: shot glasses range from roughly 1 to 2 ounces depending on the maker, the bar or the country, so a glass used as a measure can be off by half an ounce, which is a lot in a drink with three or four ingredients. The shot glass capacity guide explains how to find out what yours really holds.
| Point | Shot glass | Jigger |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Drinking vessel | Measuring tool |
| Size | About 1 to 2 oz, varies | 1.5 oz big end, smaller opposite |
| Shape | Short cup, thick base | Hourglass double cup |
| Consistency | Varies by maker | Calibrated, repeatable |
| Usual material | Glass | Stainless steel (classic) |
The classic jigger is an hourglass-shaped double cup in stainless steel. Its larger end holds 1.5 ounces and the smaller end typically 0.75 or 1 ounce, though some models pair a 2 ounce end with a 1 ounce end. Many also have lines inside marking smaller steps.
Two styles dominate. Japanese jiggers are tall, narrow and slightly conical, so a small amount of liquid covers more height and the fill line is easier to read. Bell jiggers are shorter and wider with a rounded shape; the wide lip pours easily, but the same width makes a slightly overfilled pour a bigger error, and bartenders have reported that the interior lines on some bell jiggers are less accurate.
A recipe from another country may not mean 1.5 ounces. The UK legal spirit measure is 25 milliliters, roughly five-sixths of a US fluid ounce, and jiggers sold in metric markets are usually marked in milliliters such as 30, 45 and 60 rather than fractions of an ounce. Mixing the two systems leaves a drink too strong or too weak, so match the jigger to the recipe's units.
For cocktails, get a jigger. Recipes are ratios, and even an inexpensive Japanese-style jigger with interior markings improves a drink compared with eyeballing a pour or measuring with a shot glass. For pouring shots to drink neat or share, a shot glass is the right tool, with the caveat that its capacity should be checked if the amount matters.
Heavy-base sets are made for the serving side of that split. See our recommendations on which shot glasses to buy.
On a standard jigger whose small end holds 1 ounce, fill that end twice. A jigger with a 2 ounce end, such as many Japanese models, measures it in one pour, and the 1.5 ounce end cannot make 2 ounces without a second partial pour.
The most widely cited explanation traces the word to sailing: the jiggermast was a ship's smallest mast, and the name passed to the small cup used to serve a sailor's daily ration of rum. Other theories exist, but this is the one most often repeated.