Dasher and dropper bottles
Small bottles with a restricting top (a dasher) or a glass pipette (a dropper), for bitters, tinctures and saline measured in dashes or drops.
What it's for: Dosing bitters, saline and tinctures in amounts too small to measure by volume.
What it changes in the drink
Consistency. A dash has no exact volume. It is roughly 0.5–1.5ml depending on the top, how full the bottle is and how hard you shake it. A drop is roughly 0.03–0.1ml. The same bottle gives much the same dose each time, which makes a recipe repeatable even though the dose is not a precise measure.
Do you need one? Specialist
Bitters come in their own dasher; you only need extra bottles for saline or your own tinctures.
- Good substitute
- The bitters' own bottle; for saline, a small clean jar and a teaspoon tipped so single drops fall.
- Poor substitute: pouring bitters from an open bottle
- A splash is several dashes; a Manhattan drowns in Angostura.
Types of dasher and dropper bottles
- Dasher top
- A restricting insert that releases a dash when the bottle is flicked. Bitters.
- Glass dropper (pipette)
- Releases single drops. Saline, tinctures and anything where a drop matters.
Common mistakes
- Converting dashes to millilitres in a recipe. Count them.
- Mixing up an unlabelled saline bottle with bitters. Label everything.
Cleaning and care
Wash and dry thoroughly before refilling; label with contents and date. Saline keeps for months; a tincture's life depends on its strength.
What to look for
Glass, with a top you can take apart to clean. Label everything you decant, with the date.