A pony glass may mean one of two types of small glassware:
A quarter-pint glass of beer: 5 imp fl oz (142 ml), metricated to 140ml in Australia.
A small, stemmed glass of about one ounce,[1] similar to a stemmed shot glass. Used for liqueurs or cordials,[2] hence also called a "cordial glass" or "liqueur glass".
A bar measure that is half of a jigger, used to measure a cordial. A pony traditionally held 1 imp fl oz (28 ml), and is attached to the bottom of a jigger measure, which held 2 imp fl oz (57 ml).[citation needed] In modern times, however, both the size and ratio of the jigger to pony varies widely.
Name
The name "pony" is due to the small size, and dates to the 19th century.[3] Similar terms include pony bottle and pony keg.
History
The pony as a measure reached its apex around the end of the 19th century, which also happened to be a golden age of barware.[4]
^Mr. Boston Bartender's Guide, Mr. Boston Distiller Corporation, Boston, 1978, back endpapers
^Notes and Queries, August 8th, 1896, p. 126: “It seems probable the origin is due to the diminutiveness of the glass;”
“The expression ‘a pony of beer’ is often used in South Wales for a small glass containing about the fourth of a pint.”
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