How many shots in a handle is a common question asked by you and me when we are trying to plan a big event where shots or cocktails will be served. The knowledge enables us to plan in a way that either we do not run out of alcohol or remain with a lot of it.
In this article, we will describe the number of shots that you get from a handle of distilled liquor. We will go in-depth into what a handle is and compare it with the standard measurement unit for alcoholic beverages which are shots and fifths.
Finally, with my knowledge from owning a craft brewery and restaurant, we will go through how many people can take a handle to get drunk. Let’s dive in!
How many shots in a handle
There are almost exactly 40 standard shots (1.5 ounces) in a handle (1.75 liters) of liquor. This is because 1.75 liters (handle) of distilled liquor contains 59.1745 ounces – 1 Liter equals 33.814 ounces. Dividing 59.1745 by 1.5 ounces gives you almost 40 shots per handle.
For mixed drinks and cocktail recipes, most of them call for two ounces of distilled liquor each thus meaning you will get approximately 30 drinks in a handle. Thus, as you plan your event, you can use the 1.5-ounce shots or 2-ounce shots to get the required handles of liquor.
If you are having a different shot size, then the number of shots will vary. For example, if you are doing 1-ounce shots, a handle will give you 59 shots. On the other hand, if you are serving 2-ounce shots, then a handle will give you 30 shots as described in the table at the tail-end of this article.
This amount of shots may vary slightly depending on the size of the shot glass with the standard being 40 shots (1.5 oz) in a 1.75-liter bottle of whiskey. It also can vary depending on how the person measures the shots and also can reduce due to the inevitable spillage that occurs when pour vodka into a shot glass. The number will also vary from country to country.
The following brands distribute alcoholic beverages in handles:
- Rum Handles: Bacardi, Goslings, and Kraken.
- Vodka Handles: Absolut vodka, Ketel One Vodka, New Amsterdam vodka, and Smirnoff.
- Whiskey Handles: Jack Daniel’s Whiskey, Jim Beam whiskey, and Old Forester.
How many shots in a handle of Vodka
Vodka spirit, tends to be the most mixable of them all to make different cocktail recipes. Therefore, it is the distilled liquor that you get packaged in handles and other bigger sizes of liquor bottles.
You will get almost exactly 40 standard shots (1.5 ounces) in a handle (1.75 liters) of vodka. The handle has 1.75 liters of distilled liquor which equals 59.1745 ounces since 1 Liter measures 33.814 ounces. Thus, to get the vodka shots in a handle, we can divide 59.1745 by 1.5 ounces in a shot giving you almost 40 vodka shots per handle.
The number of cocktail drinks from a handle of vodka is different since most cocktails call for 2-ounce shots of distilled liquor. Therefore, a handle will give you approximately 30 cocktails or mixed drinks containing 2-ounce shots.
Therefore the handle will have 40 shots (one shot of vodka is 1 ½ ounces) in the US whether it is a handle of vodka, a handle of tequila, a handle of rum, or a handle of whiskey. However, the number of shots can vary if the person measuring the shots is not exact.
Liters in a handle
To know how many liters are in a handle, we need to know the capacity of the handle in milliliters or ounces.
There are 1.75 liters of distilled liquor in a handle. The handle of liquor is thus a large bottle of alcohol that contains exactly 1.75 liters and not one liter. This is equivalent to 59.1745 ounces of liquor in a handle.
The handle is approximately half a gallon and is more than twice the the average size of a standard liquor bottle which is a fifth. The “handle” of liquor isn’t exactly a unit of measurement, but we now know that all handles contain the same amount of liquor which is 1.75 liters.
Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey is also available in all sizes, including a Handle. This ensures that you can enjoy your whiskey with your friends and relatives by creating the cocktails or shots for your enjoyment.
How many ml in a handle
There are approximately 1750 ml in a handle of distilled liquor. This is because a handle contains 1.75 liters of alcohol which when converted to mililiters equals 1750 mililiters.
The handle is a liquor bottle that contains 1750 mililiters of alcohol of a particular spirit. The commonly distributed handles of alcoholic beverages are handles of vodka.
Handles of Flavored Vodka tend to retain the same shape and size as their non-flavored vodka counterparts. Buying vodka in a handle will present the most saving as compared to smaller sizes. Moreover, it makes sense for people using a mixer at their party to buy a handle or several.
Shots in different liquor bottle sizes
In the United States and other countries, distilled spirits are offered in different sizes. The standard is the fifth (750 ml) but you will find sizes ranging from a Rehoboam (4.5 liters) to a miniature which contains one shot (nip).
The following table describes to you the number of 1.5-ounce shots, 2-ounce shots, and 1-ounce shots that you will get in different alcohol bottle sizes in the United States.
| Bottle | Size | 1.5 oz Shots per Bottle | 1 oz. shots per bottle | 2 oz. shots per bottle |
| Rehoboam | 4.5 liters (152.1 ounces) | 101 Shots | 152 shots | 76 shots |
| Jeroboam | 3 liters (101.4 ounces) | 67 Shots | 100 shots | 50 shots |
| Handle | 1.75 liters (59.15 ounces) | 40 shots | 60 shots | 30 shots |
| Magnum | 1.5 liters (50.7 ounces) | 33 Shots | 49 shots | 25 shots |
| Liter | 1 liter (33.8 ounces) | 22 shots | 33 shots | 16 shots |
| Standard Bottle (Fifth) | 750 milliliters (25.4 ounces) | 16 shots | 25 shots | 12 shots |
| Pint | 473 milliliters (16 ounces) | 10.6 shots | 16 shots | 8 shots |
| Half Pint | 200 milliliters (6.8 ounces) | 4 shots | 6 shots | 3 shots |
| Quarter Pint | 100 milliliters (3.4 ounces) | 2 shots | 3 shots | 1.7 shots |
| Miniature (Nip or Mini) | 50 milliliters (1.7 ounces) | 1 shot | 1.7 shots | 0.5 shots |
Thus, there are 59.1745 ounces in a handle of distilled liquor. This equates to the number of shots indicated in the table above while also comparing with other bottle sizes. A handle contains a whole liter more alcoholic beverage than a standard bottle- fifth. Moreover, a handle has more than three times the shots in a pint.
A handle when compared to half a gallon shows that a handle is 5.5 oz shy of being a half-gallon. You will thus get less distilled liquor if you get 2 handles compared to getting one gallon of alcoholic beverage.
Conclusion
We have gone through the amount of liquor in a handle and compared with other liquor bottle sizes. A handle contains 59.1745 ounces of distilled liquor which is equivalent to approximately 40 standard 1.5-ounce shots.
You will find that different cocktails including Bloody Marys, Long Island Ice Teas, and Margaritas have different distilled liquor requirements.
A handle contains far more than the required number of shots to get drunk. A health adult will need three to five shots to get buzzed. We even do not recommend taking a handle if you are 8 people since getting too intoxicated is not recommended.
FAQs
How many shots do you get from a handle?
You will get almost exactly 40 standard shots (1.5-ounce) in a handle of distilled liquor in the United States. This is because a handle contains 1.75 liters (59.1745 ounces) and dividing that by 1.5 gives you almost 40 shots of liquor.
How many shots are in a 1.75 liter bottle of vodka?
There are approximately 40 shots (1.5 oz.) of distilled liquor in a handle. However, if you are getting 2-ounce shots, you will get 30 shots while there are 59 one ounce shots in a handle.
Sources
https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/how-many-shots-are-handle-liquor
https://www.themanual.com/food-and-drink/how-many-shots-in-a-handle/
