Tips and Tricks: Accordion Pour

This is a simple trick that I've used to wow customers many times.

It works best with shooters or martinis but can somewhat be used for any drink.

The set up:

Stackable highball glasses equal to the number of shooters you are making, plus one.
Rocks glasses spaced appropriately.
Booze and mixers.

First, line up the rocks glasses on the bar. Depending on how large your highball glasses are, you may need to space out the rocks glasses. My advice is to try this a few times with just water and see what kind of spacing is necessary.

Then, put a small amount of ice in each highball. Enough to chill the liquor you'll be pouring in, but not so much as to prevent the glasses from properly stacking.

Stack up all the highballs. If you are doing 5-6 or less, you can normally hold them in one hand. If doing more than 5-6, you'll want a little help from a barback or another bartender.

Start to pour the shots into the glasses. You can either pour each individual liquor into the glasses by "dragging" the stream up the side of your highball tower, or by straining equal parts into each glass.

You're not ready for the pour. Hold the stack at the top and bottom and push it gently together so it doesn't topple apart mid pour. Then, begin turning the tower from vertical to horizontal, so that the shooter from the first glass pours into the first glass, second into second, and so on.

Watch as the tips and shooter orders come streaming in.

For martinis, you'll have to use tins. Also, you need to put ice into the tins so that they are properly spaced.

Now that you've learned the accordion pour, go enjoy some fun shooters!

Washington Apple
3/4 oz Whiskey (Crown is the accepted, but it really doesn't matter)
1/2 Apple Schnapps
Splash of Cranberry.

Mix in a tin and serve as shooters.