Alcohol basics: let's define a drink
Decisions about substance use are personal. It’s your right and responsibility to make decisions for yourself regarding if, how often, and how much you drink. In order to make an informed decision, however, it's important you know what's a typical drink looks like and the implications of drink size and alcohol content on how it impacts your body.
Many people are surprised to learn what counts as a standard drink. A standard drink contains ½ ounce of pure alcohol and the body can metabolize about one standard drink per hour. In the United States, one "standard" drink (or one alcoholic drink equivalent) contains roughly 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is found in:
- 12 ounces of regular beer: about 5% alcohol by volume (ABV)
- 5 ounces of wine: about 12% ABV
- 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor (vodka, rum, tequila, etc): about 40% ABV
- 1 ounce of 100-proof liquor: about 50% ABV
ABV or proof: what's the difference?
Both ABV and proof are used to measure how much alcohol is in a drink. ABV stands for alcohol by volume and it is the percentage of how much pure alcohol is present in a drink. Proof, on the other hand, is written in numerals. It is twice the percentage of alcohol by volume. For example, an 80 proof vodka would contain 40% alcohol by volume. Often, you will see beer and wine labels displaying ABV and liquor labels displaying proof.
Pay attention because different types of beer, wine or liquor can have very different amount of alcohol in them, so you may have more than one standard drink. For example, a standard beer contains about 5% alcohol by volume (ABV), but some craft beers can have as much as 12% ABV or more. Clearly, one 12% craft beer would have more than twice as much alcohol as a standard beer. Therefore, it should be counted as multiple standard drinks.
Average ABV range:
- Beer: 3% - 13%
- Wine: 8% - 14%
- Liquor: 15% - 50%
The ABV will tell you how many ounces of actual alcohol are in the beverage. For example, if a 12-ounce bottle of beer is 5.0 percent alcohol, that means that the bottle has 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol.
The equation looks like this:
- Ounces x decimal percentage alcohol = ounces of alcohol in the bottle or drink
- Example: 12 (ounces) x 0.05 (5%) = 0.6 ounces
A "standard drink" is 0.6 ounces of alcohol. Standard drinks are seen on many charts relating how much you could drink before reaching legal limits. While one bottle of mainstream beer will usually be about one standard drink, it may be reached by only half or three-quarters of a bottle of craft beer or malt liquor.
FAQs
In the United States, one "standard" drink (or one alcoholic drink equivalent) contains roughly 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is found in: 12 ounces of regular beer, which is usually about 5% alcohol. 5 ounces of wine, which is typically about 12% alcohol. 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits, which is about 40% alcohol.
How much alcohol percentage is too much? ›
Binge drinking is defined as reaching a BAC of 0.08% (0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood) or higher. A typical adult reaches this BAC after consuming 4 or more drinks (women) or 5 or more drinks (men), in about 2 hours.
How many drinks a week is safe? ›
Female: No more than 1 drink in a single day and no more than 7 drinks per week. Male: No more than 2 drinks in a single day and no more than 14 drinks per week. All adults age 65 and older: No more than 1 drink a day and no more than 7 drinks per week.
How many drinks are too much in one night? ›
Heavy Alcohol Use:
NIAAA defines heavy drinking as follows: For men, consuming five or more drinks on any day or 15 or more per week. For women, consuming four or more on any day or 8 or more drinks per week.
How many standard drinks is enough? ›
If you're a healthy adult: To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.
How many Oz is a standard drink? ›
A standard drink (SD) is any drink that contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol (about 0.6 fluid ounces).
Which alcohol is least harmful to your liver? ›
Take a look at this list of the least-damaging alcoholic drinks from Legends at White Oak to help you drink consciously.
- Red Wine. ...
- Light Beer. ...
- Tequila. ...
- Gin & Rum & Vodka & Whiskey.
Drinking one or two standard beers per day (12 ounces or 355 mL) may have positive effects for your heart, bones, blood sugars, and dementia risk. But too much drinking raises your risk of many health issues, including depression, weight gain, and liver disease.
What are the CDC guidelines for drinking? ›
Drinking less is better for your health than drinking more.
Nonpregnant adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting consumption to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women, on days when alcohol is consumed.
Is one beer a day bad for your liver? ›
For patients without liver disease:
Moderate drinking is two drinks per day for men and one per day for women. Higher-risk drinking is three or more drinks per day for men and two or more drinks for women.
There are four types of drinkers, each with different motivations:
- Social. These people drink to celebrate. ...
- Conformity. People drink to fit in, not necessarily because they would normally drink in the situation. ...
- Enhancement. These people drink because it's exciting. ...
- Coping. These people drink to forget about their worries.
For most men, that's defined as more than 4 drinks a day, or 14 or 15 in a week. For women, heavy drinking is more than 3 drinks in a day, or 7 or 8 per week. Too much alcohol can harm you physically and mentally in lots of ways.
How do you measure one standard drink? ›
Standard drinks are a way to measure how much alcohol you drink. Drinks come in different sizes and some are stronger than others. They have different amounts of alcohol in them. A standard drink is always equal to 10 g of pure alcohol.
What is the unit to standard drink? ›
Drinks and units
| Type of drink | Number of alcohol units |
|---|
| Pint of lower-strength lager/beer/cider (ABV 3.6%) | 2 units |
| Standard glass of red/white/rosé wine (175ml, ABV 12%) | 2.1 units |
| Pint of higher-strength lager/beer/cider (ABV 5.2%) | 3 units |
| Large glass of red/white/rosé wine (250ml, ABV 12%) | 3 units |
5 more rowsMetric Cocktail Measurements
Metric measurements are considered the 'bartender basics' in bartending. You'll find it in two forms behind the bar, milliliters (ml) and centiliters (cl); with ml being the most common unit of measurement. However they are interchangeable with 1cl equalling 10ml.
What is a single drink measure? ›
Pubs and bars used to commonly serve spirits (like vodka, gin, rum or whisky) in 25ml measures - that's about one unit of alcohol per measure. But these days many pubs and bars have switched to 35ml or 50ml measures – meaning you might be having a lot more alcohol without realising.
