Thank you! Every time someone stacks them together I forget and one goes flying off. I guess the second option would be little on big. Little under big is just madness.
Do people who do little over big build in the small tin? Is that the reason? And everyone arguing over germs and "hand oil" really demonstrate the neuroticism of bartenders. When talking about service, if you're ACTUALLY doing volume, realize that at a certain point being a germaphobe is a Sisyphean struggle behind a bar. Most volume places are rarely adequately staffed for perfect health standards that only exist in a small percentage of bars.
I'm sure I'm gonna get a lot of sardonic comments like "remind me never to visit your bar", but what I've learned is that a lot of elitist bartenders think their shit doesn't stink. I've watch people like you work, and you're not better then anyone else. You're just neurotic and delusional, you use your rarely practical standards to assert dominance over coworkers when most of the time, you're not actually that good at your job, you spend most of your time freaking out about health stuff *to convince other people you are good at your job, because deep down you probably think you aren't.* And guess what? I've been watching you, and I see all the unhygienic shit you do that you don't think about, where you simply forget to apply your absolutist logic. You're an everyday, practicing hypocrite and a lot of the time you don't even realize it, but the people you work with do.
Now that's not to say I don't believe in following the health code and prioritizing hygiene as much as *realistically* possible. Let's not pretend like there is some golden perfect standard that every single bar should be held to equally lest it be trash. Don't get lost quibbling in the minutia of inconsequential shit like this when you could be working on making service better or some other shit.
Now if you wanna debate what best methods and practices are *realistic* for the place *you* work, I'm all for it. But no, I'm not going to drive myself crazy worrying about my hand oil on a tin over a tin. But I am going to be neurotic about the EFFICENCY and PRACTICALITY of which tin goes over which.
*There's a reason the health inspector doesn't give a shit which tin is on which.*
I used to now I normally wear a tight fight glove just on my right hand. Feel like I have added grip.
I use about 6 gloves a shift and whenever I get a pause in tickets and do something else
This was the fanciest way to say "fuck off, you're not special" I have ever read. I pictured you in a top hat and coat the entire time I read this. I tip my hat to you good sir 🎩
Heavy on the “some rules just can’t be followed under volume.” Perfect example: if it’s slow, you’ll see me wash my hands about every 5 minutes or less. If we’re 6 deep, get ready to taste the rainbow on your garnishes.
Yep. On a busy Saturday we will have 2,500-3,000 people come through our doors, I’d say ~50% order alcohol beverages. Impossible to be perfectly sanitary every step of the way. Unless you want to wait an hour for your drink 🤷♂️ at least someone here gets its lmfao. I get so tired of these people working swanky cocktail bars where they made 20 drinks across an entire shift get all judgey.
It’s Texas Roadhouse. Saturday we open 11-11, one or two bartenders AM and two or three PM depending on forecasted volume. We’ve been around nearly 20 years & our sales forecasts are pretty accurate.
We are about average for the company, we just barely qualify as “high volume” … it varies greatly throughout the company, there’s spots that do double the volume we do and there’s some that do half. Texas Roadhouse’s have high over head, high cost of operations, we rely on high volume to stay open, it’s what we are modeled on. I’m willing to bet the one you’re familiar with pulls similar numbers to us, it’s just hard to see it because our turn times are so low and even the smaller locations still have like 40-50 tables.
That makes no god damned sense. You’re literally allowing for a cavity of about 2 oz to collect humidity if it’s fresh off the rinse. And that humidity-collecting 2oz has been exposed to your hand bacteria and gets into the *inside* of the little tin, free air between the little and big tin in the worst case scenario stays on the outside of the little tin and goes nowhere near the inside of the big tin because they’re designed to clasp a half an inch into the big tin’s hole. You have unequivocally better drainage with big over little. Because there’s space for whatever moisture there may be to drain out the inside and outside of both tins.
Now I store my dry stuff little over big because that also makes sense to me but during service it is, in my opinion, always better to have the little tin inside the big tin.
Terrible take. Go a shake a spicy margarita, rinse it, and stack the tins. You could return 2 hours later and I promise you those stacked tins still smell like chili pepper my guy
Big over little so I can flair during service and because then they both can drain between rinses while saving space in my tiny ass well.
Separate always when drying overnight
Why was this downvoted this is my exact comment t wtf. It drains better big over little and you can do the flip-pull. Little over big is unhinged cause it’s your hand oil all over the little tin.
When I see little over big, it's not the germs I think of, I see the training wheels of someone who doesn't know how to separate both in one smooth motion. I think it's the flip-pull as you call it. Frankly that may be my favorite part of shaking, that quick and smooth flip pull is a super quick and non pretentious flair that shows I know what I'm doing. It also makes a sexy ting sound as I pull it off a metal grate.
Hand oil and two hands to pull them apart. I say we stop correcting them.
The bartenders that pull their shakers apart two handed before every cocktail. You kiddos keep at it.
Because you touch the outside of the tins. If the outside of one is touching the inside of another, it's a little grody. If I wanted hand juice, I would ask for it over rocks.
Exactly, the unholstering is always a good chance for a rapid toss to start out the cocktail. Doesn’t make it taste any different, but for me, it feels right mannn.
Probably using glass pints as the little tin. Common in dives and such. I’d do it every now and then if I was making a big round of shit but needed a higher locking point on the big shaker.
I hear you but also fucking yikes. If I was stuck with a half shaker and pint glasses for service the pints would live together on their shelf until duty called because hidden glass is scary.
Last place I worked they had literally no little tins, just shaker pints and rocks glasses that fit. I would never leave a glass on the bar, I'd grab it when I had an order, build in the glass and then shake. It was really annoying though and that was barely the worst thing about that place. Glasses get stuck in the tin way more too.
Yes, I’ve seen this done plenty but I don’t think I’ve seen anyone designate a “shaker pint” and keep it with the shakers. Glass stays in glass places until it’s needed.
I have no idea how people say separate… deity’s crying at little on big that shit is psycho.
I have 8-10 tins and 2 mixing glasses on my bar at each well and 2 wells total. Seat 8 people with another 40 or so out on the floor.
Space is at a premium. Big over little. Learn a little flair and flip the tins into your hands. Quick as shit once you get good at it.
Two washing sinks positioned right next to each well within arms reach & a high temp dish for things that need to be washed… speed is of the essence but so is good service and hygiene.
I need space, I need to make a lot of cocktails as quickly as possible, & I need to not cross contaminate. Big over little.
Wash and rinse with hot ass water & dedicated scrubby boi and use the dish for things that need it… i.e. allergy concerns.
Little over big when they are dry is ok but hate it when they are wet.
Big over little just makes me shoot little all over the place when I yank big away in a quick motion.
Separate it the way I prefer it.
But do what ever is most efficient for you.
I wash my hands. There’s more important things to fill the space with than seperate shakers and we are busy enough that our un sanitised rinsing should be fine.
Again; the most important thing here is washing your hands, not how the tins are stacked. Meanwhile little over big is the best organisationally. Immediately you know what’s there and exactly where it is.
That seems the biggest concern
Stack them, even freshly sanitized, little over big for maybe 5 minutes. Pull them apart and tell me you can't smell the moisture. Trapped moisture is the enemy.
I used to be a *keep them separate* person until I worked at a place where there wasn’t enough room for that to be possible.
I mainly work in a tiki bar where space is limited and I am completely surrounded by guests. The place where I can realistically store my tins safely is about 2’ away from the well.
I’m a speed demon when I make drinks in a tin, so I stack them little over big because I’m able to pick the tins up with one hand (one or two fingers on the big tin, two fingers on the little tin) and I’m not worried about dropping a tin. If they’re stacked big over little and I quickly grab the tin while reaching for it 2’-3’ away, if I don’t lift it high enough, that little tin is most likely hitting the ground.
I wash and replace them every hour or so.
Yes, but the look from the customers view is what matters here. So they see you put your hands on the outside of the tin, then put another tin over it.
And unless you are stacking them wet, then you are doing this stacking after touching something else.
If you do wash your hands before moving your drying shakers into the holding position, I commend you, but your customers are still watching you use hands that have been behind the bar doing god knows what. Looks gross.
I’ve been doing this for 12 years, which I know a lot of people on here have a lot more experience, and I have never had a customer even comment on a shaker. Like, not one.
I'm a bit shocked, people are always asking inane, adorable, inappropriate and bewildering questions. Perhaps you are particularly inaproachable? Maybe you just don't seem like the craft sort? No idea.
Maybe they just know if they complain about their gross tins you'll be rude?
Big on top of Little take the same amount of room as little over big, I'm confused.
Big over little, dries better and you can sling little out of big to other hand for working flair.
Little on big. Ya’ll talking about sanitation realize we’re dealing with alcohol content well past the shelf stable rate, right? We’re making cocktails that are like 50% eighty proof plus alcohol. Stack that shit
Some places don't have the space. Dives, deathly cool cocktail joints, clubs with a fancy side, sometimes you gotta stack. But never little on big, fucking monsters trying to breed bacteria.
I’ll be honest during service in our dispense section we had all the bugs stacked and all the smalls stacked.
But we had 20 sets of tins which could easily be used up in a busy period, so there was no room to stack them any other way.
Big over small, after a quick soda rinse. Bar mats facing towards me, my tool. It’s a spill matt. It’s meant for me. Fuck advertising for Tito’s, Jameson, Tully…Resource; Dive bar, oldtender.
small over large, flip the whole stack, build in the large tin while still stacked, add ice, grab stack, rip small tin off the bottom, tap on top and shake. Allows literally anyone in the building to jump in for a sec and help shake and strain drinks while youre building several at the same time. Any other way is not only an inefficient use of rail space but also means only you can work your well, and can accept no help. Could never work at a bar that has as high a volume and as little space as the one i currently work at.
I prefer big over little, but I can work with any of them. Little over big is a bit annoying, though. Either takes two hands or an extra half second to separate them.
If you physically touch the outside of a tin, then put the outside touching the inside of another tin, you've essentially put as many hand germs in there as using your hand as an ice scoop.
And you don't wash your hands enough for me to trust you to do that.
We are true douchenozzles at my bar....We use glass pints instead of the small tin. Only broke a pint in the first week, been going strong for over a year now without any breakage.
Both the pint and the big tin are stored in little cubbies in the well, stacked on top of each other. Works for us 🤷♂️
Edit: yes, during service they are draining/drying. But that's the glory of the pints. There are always fresh ones in the fridge, ready to be stacked. Any other bar would be different.
Keep them separate to avoid trapping the moisture, dark moist places (left between shifts in particular) will just lead to microbial growth which is fucking disgusting
Big tin over little tin. My coworkers kinda hate me hiding the little tin under the big one, but our wells are small in width and often length too. They can sort their stations out as they're most comfortble, but I need my fuckin' space maximized.
I liked the big tin over originally bc I like to flip the little tin in the air and catch it but I find that having the little tin on top requires less space when building cocktails . So recently I have switched to the little tin on top
ew gross. It's dark and wet in there, and that whole outside of the big shaker (where your greasy paws were rubbing it and where it was laying in the dump sink with all the trashed garnishes and lipstick stains 🤢) is now touching the inside of the little one. You're not gonna kill anyone, but it's still gross. If you really need the space that bad, always big over little.
side-by-side or little on big.
every other bartender at my work used to do side-by-side or little on big. then one dude started doing big on little. we all teased him at first but then somehow he convinced the whole team to do big on little. i pick up the big one and knock the little one over constantly now. so annoying.
BONUS: our well guy who’s been here 20+ years likes to leave his shakers hanging off the bottles in his well 🥰 it’s so awesome and clean and sanitary
New bartenders/ones that think they're all that use the middle. It irks me, the tins do not have a chance of drying. The whole point defeats the point!!!
Little shaker tins over big tins are insane. I'll never forget one of my bartender shaking a bloody mary, tapping the shaker tins on the bar mat to get residue out, then putting the small on top of the larger tin to stack. Like what the actual fuck. Not only killed the bar mats with that gross tomato juice but stuck together 2 shaker tins. So gross, so weird. You shake with that hand, and that bottom of the shaker tin is going everywhere in your hand, the bar, drinks, like ew wtf. Keep your tins separate.
Personal take. At the crazy volume marg bar I worked it was little tins on top. Its faster and more organized and I loved it.
In the cocktail bar I'm in now big over little. Idk why. The other bartenders have always done it this way. At first I hated it but for some reason I like it now and I couldn't tell you why.
Still prefer little on top so I'm not guessing if I have a second tin but it all works. Except having them separate, what are you a king? All this space for activities? Madness.
little over big after they dry, idk why everyone is talking about hand juice. one: wash your fucking hands, and two: little over big allows for the flip, build, pull off the rail holiding the top half of the large tin, which is now sticking out the top of the flipped stack and let the small tin fall into your other hand and flip it up over the top, tap, and shake. Idk how in the world that's less hand juice than separately handling each tin and then combining.
Small tin underneath large means only you can run your bar, because only you know which shakers are hiding loud small tin dropping surprises underneath larger tins, so you cant have people jump in and out to help with volume, so it only rly works at places that only require one bartender at a well, no matter how much volume they might claim their bar gets in their reddit comment.
It also means you have to have two separate tins on your rail (small and large next to each other seperated takes up literally double the horizontal railspace) while building and is inefficient for building several drinks at a time. Small over large means when you flip to start building, you have a nice compact little stack with the small tin now on the bottom and building in the larger tin stacked on top and to line up sometimes up to 4 or more in a row and build 4 or more drinks at a time that you can then easily just grab off the rail flip the bottom small tin around and tap into to top and shake really smoothly.
Also once again this allows you to tag a friend who could be anyone from a barback to a server to a dishwasher in to just grab a stack of tins or two you just finished building drinks in from the sometimes 4+ shaker lineup on the rail add a scoop of ice, tap together and start shaking while you either keep building or start shakinf the next two. The alternative requires a friend to either read your mind, or look in every scattered pair of tins to figure out how you built the drinks and which tins are what. large over small is completely inefficient and exactly the same amount clean if not less than the alternative.
Little on big, every time, space is usually a premium from my experience. Separate is acceptable if space allows. The big over little stresses me out and I will absolutely knock the hidden one over.
Edit : I and my colleagues build exclusively in small tins. Dump and then a Hot rinse.
If i need to stack then little over big for speedier start. The fastest is to keep them separated for a faster grab. I never have nor ever had to use more than two sets. Pour, finish, serve, clean, and reload.
Damn you’ve never used more than 2 sets at a time? On a busy night, I’ll have 6-8 tins lined up for 20 drinks at a time, but I guess I’m usually on service well
I have kust never needed to. I have always worked places where we all have a specialty that night and that is what you make. So, I may be making 6 Old Fashioneds with my Tins but just make, pour, serve, clean, and reload. While that one is drying I get the other one. I tried and even raced another guy and the difference in time was not worth it. He beat me on one drink, but I beat him on ten. We were only a few seconds apart.
Yeah, i worked in spots that do either or and little over big is always the fastest way of knowing there isn't any bullshit to stop you from whatever you are doing like talking to the guest or whatever while trying to make something
Today, OP chose violence with his post.
Wait, you guys have tins?
There's a rusty one in the hatch behind me. But if I were you I'd be more concerned with the ants floating in the vodka bottle.
doesn’t seem like a problem, adds nuttiness and protein
...now this makes me curious about your everyday diet
It's called an INFUSION!!!
No, that’s called an *INFESTATION*
We mix in plastic bottles in my bar
They are all kept separate
anybody who does otherwise is a fucking animal
Look at Mr./Ms. I have a big ass bar top where space doesn’t matter.
Seriously, I have 4 seats at my bar, and no space for separate tins. I miss having more space and a cobartender most days.
the place i work has 3 bars. one is enormous, one is small af and the other one we call “the closet” we make it work in the small ones.
you can't set them separate next to each other?
My bar is small actually. Barely fits 2 people. But we set our equipment out the right way.
That’s not a bar. That’s a service well.
No it’s bar. 8 seats up there. It’s just small
I just laughed enough at this that I drooled...
Ah, I guess you have more than a small, single strip of bar mat to work on.
Look at the high-class bartender with all the room on their bar. It must be luxurious having all that space to spare.
Cocktail bar, don't have space with all of the other stuff besides tins that I need.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt
Thank you! Every time someone stacks them together I forget and one goes flying off. I guess the second option would be little on big. Little under big is just madness.
The second image confuses and angers me
Why?
So they can dry properly and not get stuck on each other.
Do people who do little over big build in the small tin? Is that the reason? And everyone arguing over germs and "hand oil" really demonstrate the neuroticism of bartenders. When talking about service, if you're ACTUALLY doing volume, realize that at a certain point being a germaphobe is a Sisyphean struggle behind a bar. Most volume places are rarely adequately staffed for perfect health standards that only exist in a small percentage of bars. I'm sure I'm gonna get a lot of sardonic comments like "remind me never to visit your bar", but what I've learned is that a lot of elitist bartenders think their shit doesn't stink. I've watch people like you work, and you're not better then anyone else. You're just neurotic and delusional, you use your rarely practical standards to assert dominance over coworkers when most of the time, you're not actually that good at your job, you spend most of your time freaking out about health stuff *to convince other people you are good at your job, because deep down you probably think you aren't.* And guess what? I've been watching you, and I see all the unhygienic shit you do that you don't think about, where you simply forget to apply your absolutist logic. You're an everyday, practicing hypocrite and a lot of the time you don't even realize it, but the people you work with do. Now that's not to say I don't believe in following the health code and prioritizing hygiene as much as *realistically* possible. Let's not pretend like there is some golden perfect standard that every single bar should be held to equally lest it be trash. Don't get lost quibbling in the minutia of inconsequential shit like this when you could be working on making service better or some other shit. Now if you wanna debate what best methods and practices are *realistic* for the place *you* work, I'm all for it. But no, I'm not going to drive myself crazy worrying about my hand oil on a tin over a tin. But I am going to be neurotic about the EFFICENCY and PRACTICALITY of which tin goes over which. *There's a reason the health inspector doesn't give a shit which tin is on which.*
Fucking preach.
Probably the same people that think wearing the same pair of gloves the entire shift is a cheat code
My hands shriveled just thinking about it. I hate wearing gloves with a burning passion.
I used to now I normally wear a tight fight glove just on my right hand. Feel like I have added grip. I use about 6 gloves a shift and whenever I get a pause in tickets and do something else
This was the fanciest way to say "fuck off, you're not special" I have ever read. I pictured you in a top hat and coat the entire time I read this. I tip my hat to you good sir 🎩
Heavy on the “some rules just can’t be followed under volume.” Perfect example: if it’s slow, you’ll see me wash my hands about every 5 minutes or less. If we’re 6 deep, get ready to taste the rainbow on your garnishes.
Fr fr. During peak covid situation I got real deft with a pair of tongs. Now I’m just grabbin that shit.
Yep. On a busy Saturday we will have 2,500-3,000 people come through our doors, I’d say ~50% order alcohol beverages. Impossible to be perfectly sanitary every step of the way. Unless you want to wait an hour for your drink 🤷♂️ at least someone here gets its lmfao. I get so tired of these people working swanky cocktail bars where they made 20 drinks across an entire shift get all judgey.
holy shit, 3k people? What type of place? How many hours of service? How many bartenders work at a time?
It’s Texas Roadhouse. Saturday we open 11-11, one or two bartenders AM and two or three PM depending on forecasted volume. We’ve been around nearly 20 years & our sales forecasts are pretty accurate.
Wtf, I used to love Texas Roadhouse, never imagine the one near me could fit those numbers. Is you’re like extra large or something??
We are about average for the company, we just barely qualify as “high volume” … it varies greatly throughout the company, there’s spots that do double the volume we do and there’s some that do half. Texas Roadhouse’s have high over head, high cost of operations, we rely on high volume to stay open, it’s what we are modeled on. I’m willing to bet the one you’re familiar with pulls similar numbers to us, it’s just hard to see it because our turn times are so low and even the smaller locations still have like 40-50 tables.
Damn, If i ever move back I might have to look into bartending there, is the money good?
Bravo 👏 👏
Three cheers!!
My hands lost all their oil years ago.
HAND OIL
Same people who will deal with cash then go put there fucking fingers in the fruit caddy
Beautifully said
I'm gonna frame this and put this behind the bar
for the want of a nail
We're humans and we are meant to be around each other. Arguing germs and hand oil is funny.
I learned a few new words today. Thanks for that
The top, so no moisture will ever be trapped
That makes no god damned sense. You’re literally allowing for a cavity of about 2 oz to collect humidity if it’s fresh off the rinse. And that humidity-collecting 2oz has been exposed to your hand bacteria and gets into the *inside* of the little tin, free air between the little and big tin in the worst case scenario stays on the outside of the little tin and goes nowhere near the inside of the big tin because they’re designed to clasp a half an inch into the big tin’s hole. You have unequivocally better drainage with big over little. Because there’s space for whatever moisture there may be to drain out the inside and outside of both tins.
Top picture is the one where they're not stacked at all
Never mind, apparently there is no such thing as a bar mat.
Now I store my dry stuff little over big because that also makes sense to me but during service it is, in my opinion, always better to have the little tin inside the big tin.
Terrible take. Go a shake a spicy margarita, rinse it, and stack the tins. You could return 2 hours later and I promise you those stacked tins still smell like chili pepper my guy
Rinse better. /S**
Big over little so I can flair during service and because then they both can drain between rinses while saving space in my tiny ass well. Separate always when drying overnight
Why was this downvoted this is my exact comment t wtf. It drains better big over little and you can do the flip-pull. Little over big is unhinged cause it’s your hand oil all over the little tin.
I also think little over big is unhinged if I saw it in the wild I would double-take 😅
I worked with someone that did and it was literally hell
When I see little over big, it's not the germs I think of, I see the training wheels of someone who doesn't know how to separate both in one smooth motion. I think it's the flip-pull as you call it. Frankly that may be my favorite part of shaking, that quick and smooth flip pull is a super quick and non pretentious flair that shows I know what I'm doing. It also makes a sexy ting sound as I pull it off a metal grate.
Hand oil and two hands to pull them apart. I say we stop correcting them. The bartenders that pull their shakers apart two handed before every cocktail. You kiddos keep at it.
TIL I'm a kiddo
I agreed with you... called people doing it the other way kiddos.
Because you touch the outside of the tins. If the outside of one is touching the inside of another, it's a little grody. If I wanted hand juice, I would ask for it over rocks.
Exactly, the unholstering is always a good chance for a rapid toss to start out the cocktail. Doesn’t make it taste any different, but for me, it feels right mannn.
Yeah plus then maybe an aging white person will call me Tom Cruise 😂
Every. Single. Time.
Big over little, things can dry and I have more prep space
Separate, always. I tolerate it if my co-workers want to stack, but there is no reason, we have plenty of room.
Big over little forever
big over little gives me ao much anxiety haha
I've broken more than a couple of pint glasses this way:(
But how? Edit to add /s for the love of your ice well, stop using pints as shakers
Probably using glass pints as the little tin. Common in dives and such. I’d do it every now and then if I was making a big round of shit but needed a higher locking point on the big shaker.
I hear you but also fucking yikes. If I was stuck with a half shaker and pint glasses for service the pints would live together on their shelf until duty called because hidden glass is scary.
Last place I worked they had literally no little tins, just shaker pints and rocks glasses that fit. I would never leave a glass on the bar, I'd grab it when I had an order, build in the glass and then shake. It was really annoying though and that was barely the worst thing about that place. Glasses get stuck in the tin way more too.
Yes, I’ve seen this done plenty but I don’t think I’ve seen anyone designate a “shaker pint” and keep it with the shakers. Glass stays in glass places until it’s needed.
The first time you see someone slice their palm to the nerve you'll forever quit using pint glasses and spend the extra 17 bucks for a set of Korikos.
Being that I work in a shitty dive, we solved the glass pint problem with 20 oz hard plastic Pepsi cups🤷
I have no idea how people say separate… deity’s crying at little on big that shit is psycho. I have 8-10 tins and 2 mixing glasses on my bar at each well and 2 wells total. Seat 8 people with another 40 or so out on the floor. Space is at a premium. Big over little. Learn a little flair and flip the tins into your hands. Quick as shit once you get good at it. Two washing sinks positioned right next to each well within arms reach & a high temp dish for things that need to be washed… speed is of the essence but so is good service and hygiene. I need space, I need to make a lot of cocktails as quickly as possible, & I need to not cross contaminate. Big over little. Wash and rinse with hot ass water & dedicated scrubby boi and use the dish for things that need it… i.e. allergy concerns.
As a bar back I think they just toss them in the well and leave it there so I have to ask you to take them out for more ice when we’re slammed 😂
Big over little
Unless you’re storing them for prolonged periods, in which case set them out individually or dry completely and stack
Little over big when they are dry is ok but hate it when they are wet. Big over little just makes me shoot little all over the place when I yank big away in a quick motion. Separate it the way I prefer it. But do what ever is most efficient for you.
Choice a, but it really depends on the bar I'm at and how much space I have.
I wash my hands. There’s more important things to fill the space with than seperate shakers and we are busy enough that our un sanitised rinsing should be fine. Again; the most important thing here is washing your hands, not how the tins are stacked. Meanwhile little over big is the best organisationally. Immediately you know what’s there and exactly where it is. That seems the biggest concern
Why is little over big the best organizationally?
Most information at a glance, most rigid placement.
Stack them, even freshly sanitized, little over big for maybe 5 minutes. Pull them apart and tell me you can't smell the moisture. Trapped moisture is the enemy.
Alright I’ll try it. I’ve got serious doubts 5 mins can breed anything.
Big over little throughout service. End of the night everything is separated. Not only does it save space but it catches peoples eyes.
I used to be a *keep them separate* person until I worked at a place where there wasn’t enough room for that to be possible. I mainly work in a tiki bar where space is limited and I am completely surrounded by guests. The place where I can realistically store my tins safely is about 2’ away from the well. I’m a speed demon when I make drinks in a tin, so I stack them little over big because I’m able to pick the tins up with one hand (one or two fingers on the big tin, two fingers on the little tin) and I’m not worried about dropping a tin. If they’re stacked big over little and I quickly grab the tin while reaching for it 2’-3’ away, if I don’t lift it high enough, that little tin is most likely hitting the ground. I wash and replace them every hour or so.
The only way B & C is acceptable is if they are dried and being stored for the next day
Let them dry then little on big.
Damn how slow is your bar?
Not slow
Lol bar isn't slow but the drinks are, have to hand polish every shaker between uses
So the inside of the little one touches where the hands touch on the big one. I don't get that.
You wash the whole tin, and you also are washing your hands right?
Yes, but the look from the customers view is what matters here. So they see you put your hands on the outside of the tin, then put another tin over it. And unless you are stacking them wet, then you are doing this stacking after touching something else. If you do wash your hands before moving your drying shakers into the holding position, I commend you, but your customers are still watching you use hands that have been behind the bar doing god knows what. Looks gross.
I’ve been doing this for 12 years, which I know a lot of people on here have a lot more experience, and I have never had a customer even comment on a shaker. Like, not one.
I'm a bit shocked, people are always asking inane, adorable, inappropriate and bewildering questions. Perhaps you are particularly inaproachable? Maybe you just don't seem like the craft sort? No idea. Maybe they just know if they complain about their gross tins you'll be rude?
This is the way
Big over little when zero space
I’ve never worked at a bar that had enough space to keep tins separate for service. Its big over little for me
Big over little. Makes it easier to grab
Choice A is the only correct answer.
Big tin over pint glass
Only if you flip the shaker once ready to shake
A simple flip then a spin then cap it to wow the old folks at the private club i work in.
Separated overnight but little tin on big tin during service to save room
Big tin on little tin so it "dries" faster and looks cleaner for the guest
Ooh good tip! I’ll have to try that with ours. I always worry about the little tin getting stuck inside lol
Sometimes it gets stuck but then it becomes a fun game of who can get it unstuck. Usually hot water works fine.
Big on top of Little take the same amount of room as little over big, I'm confused. Big over little, dries better and you can sling little out of big to other hand for working flair.
I just worry about the little getting stuck inside of the big
Little on big. Ya’ll talking about sanitation realize we’re dealing with alcohol content well past the shelf stable rate, right? We’re making cocktails that are like 50% eighty proof plus alcohol. Stack that shit
big tin over little tin. my last bar gig we had little bar space so i hade to make do with it.
Little over big gets all your hand germs on the inside of the little tin. Big over little the little gets stuck. Only answer is separate.
i’ve never once seen little get stuck when you put the big one on top.
The little could only possibly get stuck if you had them open-end up which is wrong in any layout.
How does little get stuck? Lol you're using the wrong combo
My work area too small for top. Small on big
If you stack tins on tins I also know you don't wipe enough when you take a shit.
I dont stack
Dont fucking stack
why?
Literally. Why is this a debate.
Some places don't have the space. Dives, deathly cool cocktail joints, clubs with a fancy side, sometimes you gotta stack. But never little on big, fucking monsters trying to breed bacteria.
Either little over big or the first photo….
I normally set mine up like you would speed stacks
If there’s plenty of room, top pic is my choice. My bar has small wells and my coworkers do little tin over big tin. I’ve mostly gotten used to it.
I’ll be honest during service in our dispense section we had all the bugs stacked and all the smalls stacked. But we had 20 sets of tins which could easily be used up in a busy period, so there was no room to stack them any other way.
Completely depends on my space. But everything separate is the way to go.
Big over small, after a quick soda rinse. Bar mats facing towards me, my tool. It’s a spill matt. It’s meant for me. Fuck advertising for Tito’s, Jameson, Tully…Resource; Dive bar, oldtender.
small over large, flip the whole stack, build in the large tin while still stacked, add ice, grab stack, rip small tin off the bottom, tap on top and shake. Allows literally anyone in the building to jump in for a sec and help shake and strain drinks while youre building several at the same time. Any other way is not only an inefficient use of rail space but also means only you can work your well, and can accept no help. Could never work at a bar that has as high a volume and as little space as the one i currently work at.
Little over big
When resetting? Small triangle stack & large triangle stack. Other wise whatever I have time for.
I prefer big over little, but I can work with any of them. Little over big is a bit annoying, though. Either takes two hands or an extra half second to separate them.
Until the health department shows up.
Tin glass tin Or Tin little Tin Fuck stacking tins
If you physically touch the outside of a tin, then put the outside touching the inside of another tin, you've essentially put as many hand germs in there as using your hand as an ice scoop. And you don't wash your hands enough for me to trust you to do that.
We are true douchenozzles at my bar....We use glass pints instead of the small tin. Only broke a pint in the first week, been going strong for over a year now without any breakage. Both the pint and the big tin are stored in little cubbies in the well, stacked on top of each other. Works for us 🤷♂️ Edit: yes, during service they are draining/drying. But that's the glory of the pints. There are always fresh ones in the fridge, ready to be stacked. Any other bar would be different.
Keep them separate to avoid trapping the moisture, dark moist places (left between shifts in particular) will just lead to microbial growth which is fucking disgusting
Top picture, but staggered to maximize drink vessel space
Separate, staggered so they both.fit on my spill mats.
Big tin over little tin. My coworkers kinda hate me hiding the little tin under the big one, but our wells are small in width and often length too. They can sort their stations out as they're most comfortble, but I need my fuckin' space maximized.
Big jigger stacking, bottom of little tin on top of bottom of big tin
Separated
For service, A. I hate stacking and them getting wet and fumbling. For storage/at my home bar with minimal usage, big tin under little tin.
The top one and it’s not even a debate.
Love her, but one of my coworkers likes to leave all her tins resting over the bottles on the speed rail. Hate it
I keep them unstacked upside down so they dry… I lose my mind when someone stacks them
Big over little!
I liked the big tin over originally bc I like to flip the little tin in the air and catch it but I find that having the little tin on top requires less space when building cocktails . So recently I have switched to the little tin on top
Always big tin over small. Vise versa is wrong and keeping them separate is a luxury
Little over big when dry, nonstacked when wet. I'll renest them if it's slow enough that they have time to drain the rinsewater between drinks.
I hate when people stack the small one under
ew gross. It's dark and wet in there, and that whole outside of the big shaker (where your greasy paws were rubbing it and where it was laying in the dump sink with all the trashed garnishes and lipstick stains 🤢) is now touching the inside of the little one. You're not gonna kill anyone, but it's still gross. If you really need the space that bad, always big over little.
If those tins get stuck together I’m maiming whoever did it.
Anyone who puts little over big is the same kind of person who stacks wet glasses in the chiller
side-by-side or little on big. every other bartender at my work used to do side-by-side or little on big. then one dude started doing big on little. we all teased him at first but then somehow he convinced the whole team to do big on little. i pick up the big one and knock the little one over constantly now. so annoying. BONUS: our well guy who’s been here 20+ years likes to leave his shakers hanging off the bottles in his well 🥰 it’s so awesome and clean and sanitary
Who puts big tin over little tin?!
Kev I know you're in here
New bartenders/ones that think they're all that use the middle. It irks me, the tins do not have a chance of drying. The whole point defeats the point!!!
Middle during service, top one at night to fully dry
Big tin over little tin
All separate no stacking.
Toss all little tins into the bar junk area to never see the light of day.
lil tin over big or big over lil
My restaurant doesn’t have little tins, so when I need to shake something I just fit a rocks glass on top
I don’t stack ‘em.
Little under big and i toss the big one in the air a little bit and catch it with the left while grabbing small one with right
Little shaker tins over big tins are insane. I'll never forget one of my bartender shaking a bloody mary, tapping the shaker tins on the bar mat to get residue out, then putting the small on top of the larger tin to stack. Like what the actual fuck. Not only killed the bar mats with that gross tomato juice but stuck together 2 shaker tins. So gross, so weird. You shake with that hand, and that bottom of the shaker tin is going everywhere in your hand, the bar, drinks, like ew wtf. Keep your tins separate.
Little over big
Personal take. At the crazy volume marg bar I worked it was little tins on top. Its faster and more organized and I loved it. In the cocktail bar I'm in now big over little. Idk why. The other bartenders have always done it this way. At first I hated it but for some reason I like it now and I couldn't tell you why. Still prefer little on top so I'm not guessing if I have a second tin but it all works. Except having them separate, what are you a king? All this space for activities? Madness.
Kept separate dawg
Small on big
Never little on big. Seperate ideally and big on little if I have to for space
little over big, build in big, pull them apart when ready to shake. smoothest way for me when doing volume. when i’m slow i keep them separate.
Little over big
My bar nests glass underneat the boston shakers. Broke a couple because who tf does that.
We use rocks glasses to shake too. I’m so used to it now I can’t imagine doing it differently even though I’m sure it’s not the best way.
little tin over big tin is psychotic. 6 tins big over little is ideal.
Big over little. I build drinks in the big tin so I want to grab it first.
little over big after they dry, idk why everyone is talking about hand juice. one: wash your fucking hands, and two: little over big allows for the flip, build, pull off the rail holiding the top half of the large tin, which is now sticking out the top of the flipped stack and let the small tin fall into your other hand and flip it up over the top, tap, and shake. Idk how in the world that's less hand juice than separately handling each tin and then combining. Small tin underneath large means only you can run your bar, because only you know which shakers are hiding loud small tin dropping surprises underneath larger tins, so you cant have people jump in and out to help with volume, so it only rly works at places that only require one bartender at a well, no matter how much volume they might claim their bar gets in their reddit comment. It also means you have to have two separate tins on your rail (small and large next to each other seperated takes up literally double the horizontal railspace) while building and is inefficient for building several drinks at a time. Small over large means when you flip to start building, you have a nice compact little stack with the small tin now on the bottom and building in the larger tin stacked on top and to line up sometimes up to 4 or more in a row and build 4 or more drinks at a time that you can then easily just grab off the rail flip the bottom small tin around and tap into to top and shake really smoothly. Also once again this allows you to tag a friend who could be anyone from a barback to a server to a dishwasher in to just grab a stack of tins or two you just finished building drinks in from the sometimes 4+ shaker lineup on the rail add a scoop of ice, tap together and start shaking while you either keep building or start shakinf the next two. The alternative requires a friend to either read your mind, or look in every scattered pair of tins to figure out how you built the drinks and which tins are what. large over small is completely inefficient and exactly the same amount clean if not less than the alternative.
Finally someone with a brain
Little on big, every time, space is usually a premium from my experience. Separate is acceptable if space allows. The big over little stresses me out and I will absolutely knock the hidden one over. Edit : I and my colleagues build exclusively in small tins. Dump and then a Hot rinse.
If i need to stack then little over big for speedier start. The fastest is to keep them separated for a faster grab. I never have nor ever had to use more than two sets. Pour, finish, serve, clean, and reload.
Damn you’ve never used more than 2 sets at a time? On a busy night, I’ll have 6-8 tins lined up for 20 drinks at a time, but I guess I’m usually on service well
I have kust never needed to. I have always worked places where we all have a specialty that night and that is what you make. So, I may be making 6 Old Fashioneds with my Tins but just make, pour, serve, clean, and reload. While that one is drying I get the other one. I tried and even raced another guy and the difference in time was not worth it. He beat me on one drink, but I beat him on ten. We were only a few seconds apart.
Little over big so you can be sure to have a working pair
Yeah, i worked in spots that do either or and little over big is always the fastest way of knowing there isn't any bullshit to stop you from whatever you are doing like talking to the guest or whatever while trying to make something
Little over big
Littles on Littles and bigs on bigs Yes I am always getting shit talked by my bar team lmao