Gill
Also known as: quarter pint
In short
The gill is the bar's historical unit of measurement: a quarter pint, at home on the British Isles. We explain the conversion, the history behind the counters and what remains of it today.
In depth
What is a gill?
The gill is a historical unit from the British system and means a quarter pint. In numbers it comes to just under 12 cl in America and just over 14 cl in Britain.
The history
On the British Isles gin ran over the counter in gill portions and fractions of gills, today they count in 25 ml, which continue the old math. Gill, pony and wineglass stand as measures in the classic recipe books, and you already know the pony from our jigger entry.
The conversion
For the math: the American gill equals four ounces, the British five. That is roughly three double pours in cl, and with a jigger in hand every old recipe translates into today.
Remember this one
"The cl is the present, the gill the history, the jigger the tool for both."
At our lounge
We measure in cl and ml, but the gill lives on in the old books: ask us for stories from the classics.