Whether we are organizing a party or getting a pint for our consumption, we always have a question: How many shots in a pint of vodka, whiskey, or other liquor are in the United States or the UK among other countries?
In this article, we have in-depth expert research on the number of shots in a pint and have compared it to the liquor sizes. Moreover, we will go through how many shots to get drunk to understand how many pints should be consumed at a party.
An here we go!
How many shots in a pint?
There are 10.67 shots (1.5 oz) in a pint in the United States with some variations due to different “pint-sized” liquor bottles. There are 16 ounces (473 milliliters) of fluid in a US liquid pint meaning thus there are approximately 10.6 shots (44 ml) in a pint. There are however 18.9 shots and 11.8 shots in the larger pint glass in the UK and Italy respectively.
Therefore, if you are taking double shots (also called doubles), a pint will give you around 5 drinks. The 1.5-ounce shot is the most common pour, however, cocktails and other drinks may have double or triple shots. If you are taking triple shots, the pint will give you three drinks.
It is important to note that liquor producers sell or package liquor in fifths, pints, half-pints, and liters. However, for some, miniature (nip) bottles are also available in the market.
We will discuss the number of shots in each of the sizes of alcoholic beverages such as whiskey and vodka below. Some of the biggest sizes of liquor that you can get in the market are a magnum, 1.5 liters, which has 33 shots, a half gallon which has 39 shots, and a double magnum. A Rehoboam (4.5L) is the biggest size available in most markets and has over 100 shots.
Shots in a pint of vodka
Sometimes we want to know how many shots are in a pint of vodka. The other question is whether the shots in a vodka pint are different from the shots in a pint of whiskey and other liquor.
There are 10.6 shots in a pint of vodka in the United States since a shot in the US contains 1.5 ounces of liquor and a pint has 16 fluid ounces (473 ml). The pint glass is not the same in the US and UK and thus there are 18.9 shots in the larger pint glass in the UK. On the other hand, there are 11.8 shots in a pint of vodka in Italy.
A pint is equivalent to one drink in the United States when it comes to beers. Most cocktail recipes need 2 ounces of alcohol, and therefore you will get 5 drinks (cocktails) per pint of case spirits such as whiskey, tequila, rum, or vodka.
If you are taking beer, a pint per day is a reasonable amount of alcohol since it falls within the daily recommended limit. On the other hand, taking a pint of vodka per day which is equal to about 10 vodka shots is five times the moderate drinking daily limit or even higher. This is because the alcohol in a pint of vodka is equivalent to eight 12-ounce beers.
How many shots in a pint (UK)?
The British imperial pint is larger than the US pint simply because they are two different units, each defined independently of the other– the two systems define the pint differently. Thus the British pint is 20% larger than the American pint.
The British imperial pint used in the UK is 20 ounces (568 ml) while the United States pint has 16 fluid ounces (473.17 ml) as per the US Customary System. The shot has 1.5 US fl oz (44.4 ml) in the United States but is not standard except in Utah.
Therefore, a pint in the UK has approximately 19 shots. To be exact, one pint [UK] equals 19.2151988081 shots. There is no official size for a single shot and thus a shot has 25 ml in Wales and England while it has 35 ml in Northern Ireland and 44 ml in the US.
The pint measurements differ in different countries and even depending on where you are. The measurement for the pint or shot even though universal, differs since different countries had their own measurement systems.
Ounces in a pint
There are 16 fluid ounces which are equivalent to 473 ml in the United States. The pint might have a different number of ounces in other countries since it is not standard. For example, there are 20 ounces in the British imperial pint or 568 ml.
The determination of ounces in a pint is important if you are buying pints to serve a number of guests. You can use the number of ounces to estimate the number of pints you will need to take care of all the drink/ cocktail needs for your event.
| Pint in different countries | Liquor amount |
| US liquid pint | 16 US fl ounces (473 milliliters) |
| US dry pint | 18.6 US fl ounces (551 milliliters) |
| French Royal pint (or pinte du roi) | 48 French cubic inches (952 milliliters) |
| British Imperial pint | 20 imp fl ounces (568 milliliters) |
| India | 330 milliliters |
| Australian pint | 570 milliliters |
Shots in other liquor bottles sizes
There are different liquor sizes that are available in the market today. That is why we need to know their sizes as we organize individual drinking or a party that requires serving a number of people.
In our previous article, we discussed the number of shots in a fifth being the standard bottle of liquor. However, depending on the type of liquor, you may get the bottles below:
| 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 |
A half-pint contains less than half the alcohol content in a standard pint. This is different from what you expect since the naming indicates half of a pint. 200 milliliters (6.8 ounces) of liquor which is called a half-pint, will yield four 1.5-ounce shots.
The table above has tried to give you detailed information since there are many different drinks and glass sizes, from shots to pints. It can get confusing!
How many shots to get drunk?
It will take three to four shots for a person to get drunk depending on the stature, alcohol tolerance, presence of food in the stomach, alcohol content of the liquor (average ABV of 40 percent), and gender.
Two to four shots of vodka are required to get tipsy and five to nine shots to get drunk. However, this is different for 200 pounds and 100 pounds people. If a 100-pound and 200-pound person both take 3 shots, the 100-pound person will get buzzed while the 200-pound person will not.
The type of liquor you are taking also is very important in determining how fast you get drunk. This is because they vary in ABV as shown below:
- Whiskeys ABV range from 36% to 50%
- Vodka’s ABV can start around 40% but go as high as 95%
- ABV of rum can range from 36 to 50%
- Gin has an ABV range of between 36 to 50%
- ABV for most tequila is approximately 50%
Each shot of Vodka or Whiskey and other distilled spirits contains approximately 0.6 ounces (17.7 milliliters) of alcohol. This means that the pure alcohol in 12 ounces (354 milliliters) of hard liquor with 40 percent ABV is about 4.8 ounces (141.6 milliliters).
Conclusion
We have gone through the number of shots in a pint to ensure you are able to plan as you get your drink. This is quite important if you are having a number of guests for who you will be offering mixed drinks or even shots.
There are 10.6 shots in a pint in the United States while there is18.9 shots in a pint in the United Kingdom.
We have also given you comprehensive detail on the number of shots that you can take to get drunk. This is dependent on the alcohol content and the personal stature in addition to the body weight, genetics, how much you’ve eaten, and even how good of a mood you’ve been in, but you also have to factor in what your alcohol tolerance is.
Sources
https://www.themanual.com/food-and-drink/how-many-shots-in-a-handle/
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/calculating-alcohol-units/
