Who doesn’t love cocktails? In this article, we will have a discussion on how many shots in a fifth to get your party moving. We will also discuss the standard bottle shot measurement and how to use them in different cocktail recipes.
In the article, we will also give you the number of shots to get drunk. Some people always wonder whether they drink too much if they drink a fifth of vodka every night. Finally, we will compare the number of shots in a handle with the shots in a fifth.
Let’s dive in!
How Many Shots in a Fifth?
There are approximately 16 shots (1.5oz of liquor- 44 ml) in a fifth of alcohol including whiskey. The fifth is equivalent to an entire bottle of liquor (a standard bottle of alcohol) which contains 750 milliliters (25.36 ounces) of alcoholic beverage (liquor) and gives you approximately 16 cocktails. If you are using a 1 oz shots, then a fifth will hold 25 oz meaning it will give you 25 one-ounce shots.
The shots in a fifth may range from 15 to 17 depending on the way the person serving is measuring them. Not every cocktail technician is perfect at measuring 1 1/2 (1.5) ounce shots. This is because the average shot glass holds 1.75 ounces of liquor when full and thus to get 1.5-ounce shots, you need some experience.
The shots in a fifth are different from the number of shots in a handle (1.75-liter handle of liquor). There are 40 shots (1.5 oz) in a handle as compared to 16 shots in a 5th (fifth).
Most cocktails require 2-ounce shots meaning a fifth is made up of around 12.7, or approximately 13, 2-oz. shots. Therefore each fifth will give you 13 cocktails made from the 2-ounce shot glass.
Shots in a fifth of Vodka
There are around 16 shots (1.5oz of liquor) in a fifth (standard bottle) of vodka. This is because a fifth has 750 ml (25.36 ounces) and a shot of vodka has 44 ml. Thus, you will get 16 standard drinks (1.5 oz cocktails).
A fifth of vodka is the standard size of the vodka bottle and is great to keep around the house. Moreover, 1 ½ ounce shots are the standard shot of vodka meaning a fifth will have 16 shots.
The calculation is if 1 shot equals 1.5 oz, and a fifth of vodka has 25.36 ounces, dividing 25.36 by 1.5 gives you 16 shots.
The 750 ml bottle is called a fifth because it is a fifth of a gallon. Gallons were the first unit of measurement for alcoholic beverages. If measured in 1 oz. shots, a fifth will give you 25 shots. For 2 oz. shots, a fifth will give you 12 shots of vodka.
How many ml in a fifth?
A fifth is the standard vodka bottle that you will find in most liquor stores. It contains 25.36 ounces of liquor.
Therefore, a fifth has 750 ml of liquor. The bottle size is usually relatively affordable as compared to smaller sizes or larger sizes since the larger sizes have less demand.
The initial size that was used as a unit of volume in the United States for wines and distilled liquor contained one-fifth of a US liquid gallon or 253⁄5 U.S. fluid ounces which initially equaled 757 milliliters.
However, currently the fifth measures exactly 750 ml- modern “fifth”. The 750 ml metric bottle size is in some instances called a metric fifth.
The fifth is the most common liquor size in the US and most places worldwide. The standard drink size for vodka and other spirits is the same as a standard shot which contains 44 ml of alcohol.
What is a “Fifth”?
I am not trying to turn you into a Jedi master on liquor jargon. However, it is important to have some basic information on your favorite drink to ensure you can enjoy it fully and responsibly.
A fifth is a standard bottle of liquor including whiskey that contains 750 ml of liquor meaning there are 25.36 ounces in a fifth of liquor. It has been used as the standard for liquor packaging in the United States and other countries.
Thus, a fifth is pretty much most liquor store bottles that are available today. Yes, there are other sizes but the fifth is the standard liquor sale quantity.
The reason why the bottle is referred to as a fifth is that it’s a fifth of a gallon. A fifth contains 25 shots if you are using the one oz. shot glasses.
Shots in other Bottle sizes
| Bottle size | Number of 1.5 oz. shots | Number of one oz. shots | Number of two oz. shots |
| Mini/nip | 1 shot | 1.5 shots | 0.75 shots |
| Quarter Pint | 2 Shots | 3 shots | 1.5 shots |
| Half Pint | 4 shots | 6 shots | 3 shots |
| Pint (473 ml) | 10.6 Shots | 16 shots | 8 shots |
| Fifth | 16 shots | 25 shots | 12 shots |
| Liter (1L) | 22 Shots | 33 shots | 16 shots |
| Magnum (1.5L) | 33 Shots | 49 shots | 25 shots |
| Handle (1.75L) | 40 shots | 60 shots | 30 shots |
| Jeroboam (3L) | 67 Shots | 100 shots | 50 shots |
| Rehoboam (4.5L) | 101 Shots | 152 shots | 76 shots |
A standard shot in the United States measures around 1.5 fluid ounces. Therefore, the standard bottle is the fifth but the other quantities are available in the market depending on the type of liquor.
A mini or nip has 50 milliliters of liquor meaning that it is equivalent to one shot. On the other hand, a quarter pint has 100 milliliters of liquor thus giving you two shots of liquor.
Shots are in 375 ml
We have discussed the number of standard 1.5 fl. oz. shots in a fifth (750 ml) of liquor to be 16. But how many standard shots (44ml of liquor) are in a 375ml bottle of liquor?
A pint of liquor which has 375 milliliters has eight standard 1.5 fluid ounce (44 ml) shots. This is because a pint contains half the amount of liquor in a fifth. The standard pint which has 473 milliliters will give you 10.6 shots (1.5 oz).
In terms of price per shot, the 750-milliliter bottle of liquor is relatively less expensive per shot since it is readily available and in high demand. This is because a 750 ml has more shots as compared to roughly 8.5 shots in a 375 ml bottle of alcohol.
Related: Beer vs Whiskey Calories: Comparing Calories in Alcoholic Drinks
How to stock your bar to make cocktails for a group
If you are having a party, it is important to know the amount of each liquor that you need to buy to make your party rock. But before buying the alcohol, you need to make the following considerations:
- How many guests are invited
- What is the drink menu?
- How many cocktails you will be serving per person
- Will you be offering mixed or a select number of specific cocktails?
- Will your guests make their own drinks?
All these factors determine the number of each liquor type fifths that you will need for the party. For the best serving and to ensure you do not need to buy very many different types of liquors you can offer two to three select mixed drinks.
In this case, you can just do quick maths to determine the amount of liquor to buy. For example, if you have a party for 20 people and have plans to offer the following mixed drink:
- Margaritas with 1.5 ounces (standard shots) of tequila
- Daquiris with 1.5 fluid ounces (standard shots) of rum
- Old Fashioneds with three fluid ounces of whiskey
You can work with 2 drinks per individual. This means that you will require the following amounts of liquor:
- For Tequila- 20 people *2 drinks *1.5 ounces which equals 40 shots meaning you need 2 Liters of tequila (40- 44 shots)
- For rum- 20 people * 2 drinks * 1.5 ounces which equals 40 shots meaning you will need 2 Liters of rum
- For whiskey- 20 people * 2 drinks * 3 oz which equals 80 shots meaning you will need 2 handles of whiskey.
I am quite sure that this math is quite easy. And you will have an enjoyable party.
How many Fifths in a Handle?
A handle is a measurement system for liquors that contain 1.75 liters. Therefore, a handle will give you 40 standard shots (1.5 oz. shots). On the other hand, a fifth as described above will give you 16 shots.
Therefore, a handle will contain slightly more than two standard fifths. To be exact, a handle contains 2.33 fifths. A handle of vodka, a handle of rum, or a handle of whiskey is the same in that they all contain 1.75 liters of liquor.
The fifth contains 3.5 quarts or about a fifth of a gallon. A handle will give you 30 cocktail drinks which typically use two ounces of liquor each. The fifth will give you 12.5 cocktail drinks.
Fifth vs Handle
As discussed, a fifth is the common liquor bottle size in the market today. It is the standard bottle measurement system for liquor sale packaging. A handle on the other hand is also common but not as common as a fifth or liter.
A fifth is 750 milliliters of liquor (0.75 liters) or one-fifth of a gallon while a handle is 1750 milliliters (1.75 liters) or roughly half a gallon. In other terms, a fifth is 25.4 ounces, and the handle is 59.2 ounces.
Therefore, one handle contains more than two standard measures of liquor which is the fifth. To note is that a handle of liquor isn’t exactly a unit of measurement.
Conclusion
We have discussed how many drinks in a fifth to ensure you know how to get your party rocking. There are 16 standard shots (1.5 ounces) in a fifth but when the 2 fluid-ounce shots are used for cocktails, the fifth (750 ml) bottle of liquor will give you 12 cocktails.
This is because there are 25.36 fluid ounces of liquor in a 5th which is also equal to 750 ml of liquor. We have also gone through different sizes of liquor bottles for your information as you get your drinks.
To understand how many bottles of liquor you need, just divide the number of liquor drinks (cocktails or pours) needed by 16. This will give you the exact number of fifth bottles you need for your party or event.
Sources
https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-many-shots-in-a-bottle-761232
