How Many Shots Are In A Mixed Drink?

It can sometimes be hard to tell if you're truly getting your money's worth when you order drinks from a bar, pub, or restaurant. You want to give the establishment the benefit of the doubt, of course, but you probably have experiences (or at least have heard horror stories) of receiving weak, quasi-flavorless drinks at certain locales. And while the taste of a mixer is all well and good, that's not the only thing you want to enjoy in your supposedly alcoholic beverage — and a weak drink may make you wonder just how much alcohol is standard in a regular, run-of-the-mill mixed drink.

If you were to order a straight-up shot at a bar, you'd probably receive a 1.5-ounce serving — the standard procedure at many drinking wells, and the measurement to find just how many shots are in a 750-milliliter bottle. But this measurement can change when you instead order a mixed drink. Mixed drinks and cocktails are not inherently the same, and one of the big differences is that, in many bars, mixed drinks tend to work on a single/double basis rather than using set measurements. What this means is that, if you ordered a rum and coke, for example, the default serving is 1 ounce of rum, with the option to double your serving for an extra charge. So while a standard shot may be 1.5 ounces, that number reduces to 1 ounce if you order a mixed drink.

Many people might equate the term "shot" with the word "serving" when it comes to their alcoholic beverages. And while these two terms definitely have some overlap, they don't always mean the same thing. For example, if you want to top your ice cream with a shot of booze, your "serving" size would likely equate to the traditional 1.5-ounce shot size. But on the other hand, you probably wouldn't call the 2-ounce serving of bourbon in a classic old fashioned a "shot," per se (although you may certainly encounter 2-ounce shot glasses in certain bars).

Many cocktails, such as the old fashioned, the tried-and-true margarita, the martini, and many more are going to come pre-set with more stringent measurements for all of their ingredients, not just the alcohol. Mixed drinks are at greater risk of being weakened based on how much mix and how much (or how little) ice is added, meaning you might have one perfect mixed drink followed by a decidedly mediocre one, even though both use the same amount of alcohol. So, if you're at a bar and want to truly taste the liquor in your mixed drink, you can always order a double, or you can also ask for more ice. This way, your liquor won't get lost in the literal and metaphorical mix.