How Many ml in a Shot? How Many Shots in Fifth?

Look. Things can get confusing. Especially when you, as a country (USA), choose to use a different measuring system than nearly the rest of the world. We measure liquid in fluid ounces, most others use milliliters and liters, and the British use the imperial ounce which is different than our ounce.

Liquor was around long before the US, so unfortunately for us, we are stuck using ml and L to identify the quantity of liquor in a shooter, fifth, handle, or any other sized bottle holding spirits.

We’re going to do all the math for you and break down exactly how many ml are in a standard shot, how many oz are in a shooter, how many shots comprise a fifth and a handle, and everything else.

Milliliters in a Shot

The first thing you need to know is, how many oz is a shot? Well, a standard shot is 1.5 oz of liquor. An individual restaurant or bar may do things differently depending on what you order. Expensive whiskey is often measured out by oz. Mixed shots often come in 2 or 3 oz pours, it’s all a little different. What’s not different is the “standard” pour here in America.

A standard shot of 80 proof liquor is 1.5 oz, but how many ml is this? Well, 1 oz is 29.5735 ml, so….

1.5 x 29.5735 = 44.3603 ml

There are 44.36 ml in a shot.

How Many oz in a Shooter?

Most of you know what a shooter is, but if not, you’ve at least seen them and will know what I’m talking about. A shooter can be many things, but here I’m talking about the shooter you buy from the liquor store. They are the shot-sized bottles that you can typically buy for a couple dollars.

Shooters are popular to take golfing or to the mountains. People are known to rip fireball shooters on the chairlift up, or you can take a shooter for a birdie or double bogey on the golf course. (I’m sober at the end of the round if I take a shot for every birdie. Hammered if I do it for every double bogey).

Shooters are also a good way to try new whiskey without breaking the bank. It’s less efficient and you get less alcohol per dollar

A shooter is 50ml, so you’ll notice that it actually contains more than a standard shot.

50 / 29.5735 = 1.6907

A 50ml shooter is 1.6907 oz, so don’t feel too bad if it takes you two sips to get it all down.

How Many Shots are in a Fifth?

A fifth of liquor is the standard and most popular bottle size at 750ml. How many standard shots or standard drinks will a fifth of liquor make? Let’s do the math.

750 / 29.5735 = 25.36

A 750ml bottle of liquor holds 25.36 oz, and a shot is 1.5 oz, sooo….

25.36 / 1.5 = 16.907

A 750ml bottle can serve almost 17 (16.9) full, standard shots.

Drinks in a Bottle of Wine

A bottle of wine is also 750ml so we can use similar math here to determine how many standard drinks of wine come in a bottle. A standard glass of wine is a 5 oz pour, and there are just over 25 oz of liquid in a 750ml bottle. Therefore, there are 5 full standard pours of wine to a bottle, with just a touch (0.36oz) left over.

How Many Shots are in a Full Handle?

A handle is 1.75L, or 1,750ml – 2 1/3 times larger than a standard 750ml bottle. We can simply take the ounces and/or number of shots in a 750ml bottle and multiply it by 2.3333 (2 1/3).

25.36 oz in a 750ml bottle x 2.333 = 59.174 oz

16.9 shots in a 750ml bottle x 2.33333 = 39.45 shots

There are 59.174 oz in a full handle of liquor, which equates to 39.45 standard shots.

Summary

Hopefully this helps you understand how many standard drinks each size bottle will serve. It can be confusing breaking down ml to oz as the conversion is 1oz to 29.5735ml, which are not easy numbers to calculate off the top of your head. A full summary is just below.

• Handle (1.75L) = 59.174 oz / 39.45 shots
• Bottle (750ml) = 25.36 oz / 16.9 shots
• Wine Bottle (750ml) = 25.36 oz / 5.072 standard 5oz pours
• Shooter (50ml) = 1.6907 oz / 1.127 shots
• Standard shot (1.5 oz) = 44.3603 ml