Standard Alcoholic Drink

To keep yourself at low risk of developing an alcohol use disorder, you need to drink less than five standard drinks a day if you are male and less than four if you are female. But what exactly is a standard drink?

In the United States, a standard drink is an alcoholic beverage that contains 0.6 fluid ounces (14 grams) of pure alcohol. That equals about 1.2 tablespoons of pure alcohol.

The following are generally considered the equivalent of one standard drink:

• 12 oz. of beer or wine cooler
• 8-9 oz. of malt liquor
• 5 oz. of table wine
• 3-4 oz. of fortified wine (sherry or port)
• 2-3 oz. of liqueur, cordial or aperitif
• 1.5 oz. of brandy
• 1.5 oz. of spirits (whiskey, gin, vodka, etc.)

The above examples are approximate because many brands and types of alcoholic beverages vary in actual alcohol content. Check the label for the percentage of alcohol content.

Unless you are in a bar or restaurant, you are unlikely to purchase your alcohol by the drink, but instead will purchase in larger containers. Here are the number of drinks contained in some popular containers:

Beer: There is one standard drink in a regular 12-ounce beer, but there are 1 1/2 standard drinks in a 16-ounce "tall boy." The new popular "40s," which are made up of 40 ounces of beer, contain 3 1/2 standard drinks.

Malt Liquor: By definition, malt liquor contains more alcohol than regular beer. A 12-ounce can or bottle of malt liquor contains 1 1/2 standard drinks, not one drink. Likewise, a 40-ounce container of malt liquor contains 4 1/2 standard drinks. In other words, one 40-ounce can of malt liquor exceeds the daily guidelines for low-risk drinking.

Wine: No, one bottle of wine is not one drink. The usual 750 ml wine bottle contains at least 5 standard drinks. A bottle of "fortified wine," such as sherry or port, contains almost 8 standard drinks.

Hard Liquor: A standard drink contains only 1.5 oz. of 80-proof liquor. So, that means a half pint of hard liquor contains 4 1/2 drinks and a pint contains 8 1/2 drinks. A fifth (750 ml) contains 17 standard drinks.

The reason that it is important to recognize a standard drink is so that you can know how much you can drink safely, according to the recommended guidelines—five or less standard drinks for men per day, four or less for women.

If you drink more than the recommended guidelines, you are putting yourself at risk for developing alcohol abuse disorders, and you are increasing your risk of developing health problems due to your alcohol consumption.

If you want to make sure you are not exceeding the recommended guidelines for safe alcohol consumption, make sure you measure your drinks carefully against what constitutes an actual standard drink.